A Phantasmal Existence
by Erithemaeus
Summary: Go on an adventure with the First Sorcerer and his trusty household, screwing over various worlds along the way. Make way Zelretch and Merlin, there's someone else to take the spotlight from the both of you. [Bree-verse]
1. On the Basis of His Sorcery

If everyone knew that the true path to the Root can be shown to to you by any street performer currently eking out an income by simple sleight of hand, they'd go insane. That is the summary of my more or less immortal journey throughout the ages, with the crystallized wisdom that I painstakingly earned through hard work and multiple near-death situations that I found myself in. All those millenia of knowledge stored inside a single sentence, and most do not even know what it means. Shame really, what mages have deteriorated into nowadays.

You see, all performers well-versed in so-called 'street magic' know that the main selling point of their performances is the illusion. Of making their audience think that they could do everything with a simple flick of a finger while the rest of the machinery goes unnoticed. There is a certain thrill in the craft, a back and forth going on between performer and audience, and all of it boils down to the adaptability of the performer at a given situation. If you are wearing nothing but a simple short-sleeved shirt whilst doing a card trick, then use the tablecloth. If there is no tablecloth, then use the palm of your hands. If your hands are tied however...

...Now, that is where the Magic begins.

Many Magi believe that fooling the World is impossible, that it could detect intrusions in its Reality Marble and eliminate them without impunity. If that is the case, then the venerated Kaleidoscope and Blue, beings who have reached Akasha and returned as Magicians, should be detected the moment they appear back on Earth. Yet, why does the Counter Force not respond immediately? The answer could be seen every time magecraft is used.

It takes time for Gaia's effects to manifest on the World.

Now, the rest of you might say that you have already studied this before, that you have already learned this in Magecraft 101. It is, after all, the underlying principle as to why magecraft works in the first place. Even though Gaia could erase any potential breaches in its laws, the fundamental laws of reality see to it that the process is not instantaneous, as long as the breach is sufficiently large enough.

Yes, there are fundamental laws that even Magicians adhere to. Do you really think that Zelretch could simply access a world line without any repurcussions?

In any case, how does this relate to my earlier statement regarding the fact that illusions are needed for street magicians to succeed?

Everything really.

You see, imagine yourself as the performer, the street magician. Now, imagine the audience as Gaia itself – albeit of course, with a gun directly pointed at your head just in case she notices a little mishap with your performance. Not a great critic, I know, but it _is_ an apt comparison compared to the other ideas floating in my head when I wrote this thing. So, now you're sufficiently motivated to ensure that you do _not_ fuck up when you're doing your magic tricks. In essence, this is how every mage back in the Age of Gods took their craft– with complete and utter focus on every single piece of their performance, in order to make sure that they live for the next event.

This is also the same method that I used in order to evade the Counter Force, and reach Akasha without so much as a harmful wisp of wind on my face. It is also the same reason as to why those uppity Magi back at the Clock Tower call my Sorcery the 'Denial of Nothingness'.

After all, when reality deludes itself into thinking than an object is supposed to exist there even though it really isn't _supposed_ to be there, then what else can you call it other than 'Denial' itself?

/-/

\- Bree, Magician of the First, describing the Essence of his Sorcery amongst the Kaleidoscope and the Blue


	2. On Limitations, Versatility, and Dragons

Now, if there is any limitation to my Sorcery, I'd slap you in the back of the head for that. Every single Sorcery is interconnected with one another, and all of them are derivatives of the First. Kaleidoscope is tricking Akasha into showing you multiple realities. Heaven's Feel tricks the Root's reincarnation cycle by sending the body (instead of the soul) to be recycled instead. The Fourth is...well, let's just say that you'll be able to trick the World into manipulating concepts. The Fifth tricks the World by Gaia assuming (incorrectly) the amount of entropy inside an object. Each and every single one of these Sorceries can be traced back to the First.

Why then, do these derivatives exist at all? You should know the answer by now, and in this case it really is obvious– splitting off branches from the First makes the resulting Sorcery more potent. Conservation of Mysteries and all of that. Therefore, what the First lacks in the sheer power to shape the world to their will, it makes up for in sheer versatility. Want to see the events occurring in another worldline? Then trick Akasha into thinking that the worldline that you want to observe is actually interconnected with yours. All you need is a leyline for a steady supply of mana and scry all you want. Want to live forever? Link a mana tether towards the Reverse Side of the World and use the influx to continuously reinforce your soul. Or just make a puppet body and just transfer your soul to there by tricking the World that the puppet body is actually the real one.

The sheer versatility of the First can be used for both mundane and awesome stuff. You can teleport around the place by tricking Gaia about your current position. You can manipulate your surroundings without lifting a finger by tricking the World that the event you wish for actually happens. In fact, I helped out a parallel universe once (with Zelretch's permission, of course) by denying ORT's rights to slack off on Earth. Now the Sun on the other hand, seems like a nice place for a vacation...

And relax. The Sun isn't some kind of being that's more powerful than the Aristoteles. I personally checked it. It's really just a big ball of superheated gas.

On the other hand, we won't be seeing anymore life-forms on Mercury...

Anyway, where was I? Back to the topic at hand. If you know the Counter Force personally, then the entire planet is your one big Reality Marble. I had discussions with both Gaia and Alaya of course, and amidst broken chairs, shattered teacups, and the personifications of both nature and human survival trying to kill me, we eventually came to a conclusion that didn't involve siccing countless waves of Counter Guardians working with Primate Murder. It has been the most absurd sentence that I have ever uttered in about a hundred years. So I'm free to lug about all over the place as both Beast of Gaia and Alaya, in exchange for changing my permanent residence towards the Reverse Side of the World, and policing the various species inside there to make sure that they have a happy and peaceful society.

As of the moment, it's still a work-in-progress. Hard to figure out a basic hierarchy when _everyone_ wants to be the leader. I swear, if it happens again, I'll bust out my gun and threaten them all with the reign of the Eastern dragons.

Western dragons may look cool, but they don't have the brains of the Eastern ones. Seriously, why would you want to dump _all_ your treasures in one single room and _sit on it, of all things,_ when you could _use_ the money for future investments that bring you more profit?

...Oh. Now I understand why they put me here.

On the bright side, at least I can get to watch a fight between Western dragons and Eastern ones. I need to prepare the popcorn for everyone.


	3. On Theft, France, and Solomon

There is a problem. A very, _very_ big problem.

You see, while I was preparing the popcorn for everyone (including Gaia and Alaya, of course), someone stole all the wyverns, and Fafnir himself. It meant that someone was able to punch through the Reverse Side of the World, steal all the wyverns and a _Millennium-ranked dragon_ for goodness's sake, all under my nose. I _knew_ that tingling at the back of my head wasn't the fey trying to play a prank on me. Although it's fine. All that I need to do is just to figure out where the traces of mana went, which was easy considering dragons– especially the Western ones – rub their magical signature all over the place like they were mating or something.

Which brings me here, in France, during the Hundred Years War with England. How do I know this? The Grail told me. Yes, _that_ Grail. I don't know _how_ it got into France (and I don't care either), but what I _do_ know now is that someone used it to gain dragons. It's a stupid wish for such an 'omnipotent' device, really– you could just wish for infinite, varied, and _good_ food, but they just wasted it on getting dragons. I mean, I don't have a prejudice against dragons– in fact, I think they they're awesome, but it doesn't change the fact that someone squandered a stupid wish.

Additionally, while I was stuck with my thoughts, someone found me. That someone being Jeanne D' Arc, who I'm sure only died a few days ago. Why do I know her name? Once again, because the Grail told me. She was looking at me weirdly (which was hypocritical of her, since she's dead), muttering something about 'abnormalities' and the like, but I waved her off and ask her if she had seen any wyverns or dragons, perchance.

So here I am, giving a piggyback ride to a recently-dead saint, all while said saint was begging me to put her down. I don't want to kill her, though– who knows what Alaya would do to me once the news come out.

In any case, I told her that I had a schedule to keep, so I simply teleported us about a quarter of a kilometer up in the air, where I noticed a very few, _very_ colorful individuals slaughter their way through the wyverns. I couldn't help but sigh at the sight. Looks like there'd be less participants in the battle royale later. Shifting the two of us in the middle of the battleground, my presence immediately put a stop to everyone in the battlefield. Uh, let's see here...Cu Chulainn, EMIYA (what's the current Counter Guardian doing here?), Marie Antoinette...and a bunch of other people that I'm _sure_ died about a century or two in the past, give or take. Oh, and the wyverns as well. They all immediately stopped what they were doing when they saw me spontaneously appear on the battlefield. Because at least, they know that I wasn't pleased that they fell for some schmuck bait like escaping the Reverse Side of the World.

A good thing about being the de-facto leader of the Reverse Side. _Everyone_ is scared of the Magician that could erase them without even a bat of an eye.

Questions were exchanged, identities were given, and only now I find out about the giant circle in the sky. Seriously, how could I not see such a big and obvious thing? A quick Analysis of the huge circle above the skies of France later (because there isn't anything structural about a disk in the sky), and I found myself sighing at Solomon's antics. Really, the last time I'd seen that thing was over the Philistines about a long time ago, and the carnage is something that I wouldn't want to see again. Even if he just used one disk. I could only wonder as to what is he trying to destroy with seven...

...Damn it. The wyverns and Fafnir could wait. I need to resolve this first before Gaia and Alaya start hounding my ass again.


	4. On Demons, Swords, and Runes

If there is something that would always scare the ever-living shit out of any worthwhile Sorcerer, it's encountering a True Demon. Being able to warp reality at a whim with their Wishcraft, their inherent alienness towards any creature currently living on the planet, and the fact that they are so much worse than what they are depicted as in any religious scripture is enough to make any aspiring Magician pause in their tracks. Unless you're me of course.

In which case, the best possible way to kill a True Demon is to shoot it. With a gun. A gun that fires both physical and magical projectiles at the same time, and is currently boosted to world-breaking levels due to having the blessings of both Gaia and Alaya.

Sure sucks to be Göetia, that's for sure.

In any case, after shooting the Demon King in the face, I made my way back to France using the disks that empowered Ars Almadel Salomonis before they collapsed. What was currently happening in front of me was most obviously a clusterfuck between Heroic Spirits on one end, and an army of wyverns plus Fafnir in the other. Naturally, both sides stopped when they saw me suddenly shift right in the middle of the battleground. The wyverns paused, staring at me with wide eyes as I impatiently tapped my foot, and after less than ten seconds of waiting, one of the wyverns spoke up in Draconic. Yes, dragons and their derivatives have a shared language. Deal with it.

 _"We are sorry."_ One of them said, their head already lowered to the ground as they whimpered. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Dragons do not whimper after all; they simply know that they are currently speaking towards the de-facto leader of the Reverse Side of the World. _"We have been tempted by a hole in the Reverse Side. We thought that it would be a good idea to run amok mankind once more, but it seems that we have been tricked by that Dragon Witch."_ If they're speaking like this, it means that something's wrong. These idiots _never_ let these things go. I sigh, turning towards the one who spoke and asking him another question, this time on Fafnir's whereabouts. They pointed their snout upwards, towards a black island amidst the blue sky, and I simply sighed in response. Oh well. If that guy insists on pissing me off, then I'd beat him down myself.

A sword blinked into existence, floating in mid-air before I grasped it, the primordial runes carved on it flaring with a solid gold glow. Amidst the peanut gallery, I pointed towards the island in the sky, the image of a dragon's maw flashing through my mind. My Mana Cores activated, and a roar ripped through the air, a golden wave of light crashing into the black island and forcing it to land.

With a sigh, I let go of the blade, letting it blink back into non-existence. Job done, I make my way towards the wayward dragon, but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. Seriously, it's just a simple (lol) blade. They shouldn't be surprised that it could take down Fafnir like that. "Alright, what is it?"

"How did you make that blade?" One of them asked, and I turned my eye to look towards the speaker, seeing Alaya's current plaything staring at me with a scrutinizing expression on his face. Based on his life experience, he should know that something was wrong when my blade just suddenly popped into existence with a force that could put Excalibur to shame.

"By the way, what were those runes on your blade?" Another one said, and I barely hid a wince as the Hound of Ulster went into my personal space and began observing my hands _very_ intently. Sir, I do not know whether or not you have an actual hand fetish, but I'm going to assume that it's true for the sake of my continued sanity. In the meantime, I need to retrieve back Fafnir from whoever stole that son of a bitch, and push them back towards the Reverse Side of the World before the tournament between dragons start. So I did what I always did when I'm placed into a less-than-suitable situation.

"I knew Odin."

I ran the fuck away.


	5. On Teenagers, Portals, and Lines

I expected something big waiting for me when I shifted towards Fafnir's currently-regenerating corpse (or, unconscious body, if I were to be lenient with my descriptions). I certainly didn't expect some angst-filled Heroic Spirit standing in front of me with her flag raised and everything- wait, isn't that Jeanne? What the hell is she doing, riding on Fafnir's nape? Why does she look angry? Why is she filled with so much angst? Why did she bleach her hair? Why did she _cut_ her hair? Why did she get some colored contacts, and why did she dye her clothes black?

Ah, whatever. She's a teenager. I'm certain that this might be one of her phases. Is she growing up so fast? I feel old, already.

Flames spring up all around me, charring the grassy knolls around me into glass. I yawned. "Uh, Jeanne right? I'm just here to retrieve Fafnir, so if you could just step off his nape so you also won't get dragged in towards the Reverse Side of the World?"

"Make me!" She screamed, forming a fireball in her hands and launching it towards me. She seemed surprise to see me tank the blow with no damage whatsoever. Seriously, I'm currently standing behind her, and she couldn't even see me? That's just sad. Maybe she lost her Precognition skill or something? I knew I should've given her those visions when she was younger...oh well, mistakes are mistakes. There's nothing I can do to correct them. That'd just be spitting upon the graves of the various people that I interacted with all throughout my life.

(It was at this moment, for whatever reason, I felt that I insulted someone currently in Avalon. Weird.)

"Your choice if you want to go towards the Reverse Side of the World as well", I said, surprising her as she slammed the shaft of her flagpole at my temple. My visage in front of her shimmered into nothingness, and I lowered her flagpole with a quick tap. "Seriously, I don't recommend it", I said, trying to convince her. How do I convince rebellious teenagers to do what I ask of them again? A book materialized into my hands, and I quickly flipped through it to answer my question...

None. Damn it. "Everyone inside the Reverse Side would know the presence of a Heroic Spirit immediately, and trust me - you don't want to be in the center of that."

My first time going to the Reverse Side of the World was actually a prank scheduled by both Gaia and Alaya, who didn't deign to share me this important information when I first punched a portal through it. They thought that Rhongomyniad had been opened or something, and tried to rush out of the portal like people in the desert finally finding an oasis. It was also the first time that I was annoyed enough in a few thousand years (not counting my recent escapade with the King of Demons, of course) to use my gun.

Those bastards didn't dare step out of line after that.

"What did you say?" Jeanne (I think; look, another one showed up alright?) said, with golden-colored contacts boring deep into me. Huh, so they also come in dragon-pupils. I should totally get one of those once I'm sure that I could leave those idiots in the Reverse Side of the World be. Or at least, make sure that the Eastern dragons win. In any case, she totally wouldn't listen to me. Oh well. The best teacher is experience, after all.

"Not now, I'm trying to focus here, Jeanne", I chided her, and considering that flames began lapping at my vision again, it seemed like she was pissed. Ugh, whatever. I'll deal with her later.

I tapped my left temple, a button hidden in my skin clicking as my eyepatch began locking itself into a compact earpiece. I now savored the vision going through my left eye, a trail of burning blue light coming out of the dragon-shaped pupil, and searched the area for a healthy leyline. Luckily, there was one right under our feet, and so I managed to use it as a power source to open up a portal towards the Reverse Side. As the golden portal slowly shimmered into existence, Fafnir perked up, now apparently able to sense the opening of the portal and its purpose, and turned towards be with unblinking ruby eyes.

 _"Go",_ I said in Draconic, my tone carrying a hint of annoyance. Red eyes flashed with fear, and the Millenium-ranked dragon ambled on through the portal with a quickness that I was sure came from a Jackalope. Given that Jeanne was still perched on Fafnir's snout, she was now busy hanging on for dear life, before she disappeared in a golden flash of light that signified that she entered the Reverse Side of the World.

Now, I turned towards the collection of wyverns currently landing all around me, and I sighed, crossing my eyes and gazing at each and every single beast that surrounded me. The gaggle of Heroic Spirits now approached my position, with most of them staring at the portal with wide eyes filled with awe, and I couldn't help but stem down the irritation that lanced through my mind.

 _"Remember",_ I said, _"Form an orderly line."_


	6. On Gaia, Alaya, and Tournaments

Now that I think about it, using my Sorcery is easier the more divided Gaia and Alaya are with each other. During the Age of Gods, it was extremely difficult to do such a thing, since everything was governed by an unconscious body that was supposed to embody the pinnacle of planetary life. This means that if I were to face against an Aristoteles, I would be in an extreme disadvantage if I didn't have either Gaia or Alaya's support.

It didn't mean that I could simply tolerate their shenanigans, however. "That was the fifth bowl of popcorn that you just stole under my watch."

"Tell me Bree, who is responsible for the kernels that are processed into this snack in the first place?" I winced, glancing towards the woman on my right. Inhumane silver eyes stared into me, with a barely-hidden savagery hidden behind it, and the raven hair that fell to her waist was as dark as the night itself. Nevertheless, Gaia had a point, and I conceded the argument to her just as another wave of popcorn appeared and filled my bowl. I felt the two women beside me freeze out of instinct, before two arms shot out towards the popcorn at a frightening pace.

It was a good thing that I have my own stash. "You know", the woman on my left said, staring at me with impassive blue eyes that reminded me of a machine, "I had my doubts when you decided on such a... _crass_ process in ensuring the leadership of the Reverse Side of the World, but this is more entertaining than I expected."

Let it be known that Alaya's method of entertainment was watching a Heroic Spirit in all but name slaughter innocents by the millions. Of course she would be excited in watching dragons fight. "Of course _you_ of all people would be entertained by such a pathetic display of power." I froze, watching silver eyes stare at me like a prey against a predator. I knew that Gaia was just teasing the heck out of me, but she seemed to learn the valuable skill of multitasking. After all, Alaya was already trembling in indignation to my left, her deep blue hair vibrant with energy just waiting to be unleashed at a command.

"Hoh?" I sighed. And thus, once again I sealed my fate as peacemaker for mother and daughter. "If you think that this is a pathetic display of power, then what does that tell me of the one that created them?"

"I merely modeled them after the fashion of those little insects you call humans. That should explain the reason as to why these creatures are so weak."

"You..."

"Me."

"If you two don't stop bickering with one another, then I'm going to stop making popcorn." My statement immediately garnered the two's attention, their eyes trying to bore into me like a drill. It was a good thing that I was currently in the ring, officiating the fight. It wasn't as if I liked my arms being crushed by two quasi-omnipotent beings with full-time access to the Counter Force, after all. At least, there was a small victory in the fact that the crater that I made into a stadium/arena wouldn't be getting additional craters for today.

"Now, I wouldn't mind making an infinite pool of popcorn, but-"

"Make two seperate pools for the two of us, and only call us when the main event starts." Gaia said, and I sighed from my spot on the ring. Really, my clone seems to have the worst luck. Oh well, as negotiations go, it wasn't really a hard request, and so with a snap of my fingers, two pools filled to the brim with popcorn formed behind the two women. I made sure to add a small portal that would continuously shift in fresh popcorn towards the pools, so I wouldn't have to worry about replacing the goods. Seeing as their request was granted, they immediately got up from their seats and jumped into the pools, with a deadpan expression on Alaya's face while a savage grin on Gaia's.

His purpose done, my clone disappeared, leaving my vision to overlook the entire arena just as the crowd cheered, and the Spriggan fell. "Oh, and that does it for Günther, with the winner of this match being Ingrë of the Fey clan! It looks like the Fey are currently on a hot streak with their representative going on to win _three_ matches in a row today, so who will be the clan who'll manage to bring them down?"

Cheers erupted from across the stadium, and I couldn't help but smile at my handiwork. There goes an audience currently satisfied with their bloodlust, so it means that I have some time before someone else shows up to challenge the man.

...Which brings me to my next problem. "What?"

Indeed. Emo-Jeanne. How do I get her out of this rut? It wasn't much of a good idea to just chuck her into the Reverse Side of the World for sure, and the resulting outburst (seeing as they almost sexually-assaulted my guest) was big enough to be the main venue for the tournament, so I really need a way to chuck her back to wherever she came from. Problem is, dealing with both Gaia and Alaya at the same time isn't really a good exercise in memory retention, so I may have...forgotten, where her original destination was supposed to be. Seeing as Emo-Jeanne herself doesn't know where she came from, and with Fafnir currently being petted by Emo-Jeanne, there isn't really much I could do in order to send her back.

Oh well. If she doesn't want to go back, then I'll just accept it. Just add another clan to the ever-growing list. Gods, do I need someone to chuck all the paperwork at.

"I wish to challenge Bree!"

I blink. The rest of the audience blinks. I turn towards the bottom of the arena (crater), where the Fey was currently staring at me with a smug grin on its face. Well, he asked for it. Nothing I could do except to punch the guy into oblivion.

"Hope you lose, you one-eyed bastard."

"Sure. Keep telling yourself that, Emo-Jeanne. Remember, bottling up your feelings only makes it worse for everyone else in the future."

"You-!"

Once again, I shifted, now appearing in the middle of the arena, wherein the Fey in front of me was shining a burning gold, an expression of glee on its face.

"I can't believe that I tricked _you,_ out of all people."


	7. On the Past, Interrogations, and Truth

There's always a time when a Sorcerer is caught off-guard. Due to the nature of their opponents, this means that Sorcerers are at the mercy of their enemies when it happens. I know, since I've been there - Zelretch got a bit too overconfident when fighting ORT, that he didn't have a back-up plan after blasting the human-spider thing with mana gathered from an infinite amount of worlds. Come to think of it, it was one of the only times where I see the fear behind the man's eyes, that told him of his eminent demise.

It was the same fear that I always encountered when I found him battling against the Crimson Moon, or unlocking the Kaleidoscope directly in the middle of the fight. Not a good place to be in.

In any case, this is a cautionary tale to tell to others to always keep their guard up, to make sure that they never leave openings that an opponent could exploit. As for me, well...I knew that the 'Fey' in front of me held the keys to my continued survival.

The golden orb shifted, transforming into a more human-like figure. A dark brown cloak gilded the figure, with soft hazel locks falling into a soft braid that reached the figure's shoulders. A lock of the figure's hair was silver, most likely due to overuse of the prodigious resources that she already had, or maybe the stress that had finally reared its head in over a dozen centuries. Silver eyes gleamed from within the hood, staring at me directly, with no signs of flinching. The robes that the figure wore only accentuated their figure, with golden tassels and highlights over a dark blue robe that was both practical and glamorous. The figure's sleeves coverd their forearms, preventing me from discerning the various weapons hidden within.

Currently, one of those arms were poised over my heart, a black-tipped wand ready to activate under its user's will. I was poised to die- I knew it, and the figure knew it. The only thing left is to figure out whether or not the figure in front of me is the real thing, or just another illusion.

How ironic.

"It's been a long time, Bree." At that, I sighed in relief. She was the same. The same tone of mockery, of the warmth that hid beyond the unquenchable fires of pride and wrath. Just to be sure, a wave of mana pulsed from my position, searching through every single noo and cranny- to _peer_ into the Records itself in order to know whether or not she was real. The Records never lie, however, and this time a smile forms on my face. Not a smirk, but a quirk on one's lips, caused by...something, that I had once forgotten a long time ago. How long has it been since I last saw her?

"Two millennia, give or take." My clone replied, appearing behind her with a smooth smirk, with one amethyst eye half-lidded in nostalgia. I knew that I didn't trust my current mouth as of the moment. "Since the fall of Uruk, if my memory serves me right."

"Since you're not the one actually talking, I'll dispose of you." With casual words and with nothing more than a twitch of an eye, a maw opened behind my clone, taking him somewhere that I could not reach. In an instant, I cut off the connection, returning back towards my real body, all currently under hostage. "Now", she replied, with a gaze of steel boring deep into my own eye, "Talk."

And so, I did. For the first time in millennia, my voice lost its signature charm, now a dead croak that resounded across the stares of Phantasmal Species of all kinds, and under the watchful gaze of both Gaia and Alaya. Was this her plan? No, it wasn't. She was usually far subtler than this- or at least, only furthering her goals behnd closed doors. She was only taking advantage of an opportunity- one that would normally be unavailable to her due to the various walls that I put about myself.

Damn it. "I thought you died."

"Obviously, you thought wrong." Her eyes gained a crinkle of amusement, with the same shade as Gaia's- one that of sadistic glee, of being able to wrap their fingers around someone else and _squeeze._ "Do you really think that someone like me could easily be killed? Goddess she may be, but she does not hold my life in her hands." A subtle answer. It was Gaia who had sheltered and nurtured her, all for this moment.

Damn it. I sighed, and the black-tipped wand digged deeper into my ribs. "You know, I never noticed why you never saw humanity as a plaything, even if you had the First truly within your grasp. I never truly realized it once the Earth Mother herself pointed it out towards me." Suspicion. Her eyes narrowed, the shimmering of an unknown space ringing at my peripherals, bringing imminent death. "What makes you attached to them, when Gilgamesh himself gave up? When Solomon cut off humanity's potential to ascend amongst the gods? When they bicker and they cheat, when they lie and when they steal, when they would rather sell out their fellow man for the sake of their own goals, what makes you believe in them so?"

It was a question that I have been asking myself for the longest time, ever since I found Akasha and saw the atrocities that they had committed. It was a question that she wanted me to answer out of sheer curiosity, and one that both Gaia and Alaya herself had crafted to determine my loyalties. Overall, it was a cunning trick- a way to answer three perspectives at once, and I couldn't helped but be humbled by the intelligence (or was it desperation?) of both nature and mankind.

And so, I answered her question, the only way I knew how.

"It is because they stood up and fought, when I simply ran away."


	8. On His Answer

A tactical retreat is always preferred to a complete loss. Logic deems it so, and therefore it is the most efficient way to go about the problem when only a few options are on the table. Heroes stand and fight, dying an honorable death as they do so. It has been the way that the World works, and the way their names are engraved onto the Throne.

But for me, who simply chose to run away in the face of overwhelming defeat only to receive the First for my efforts...Did Akasha have a sense of humor or irony perhaps?

/-/

My name is written in the history books, yet most do not know my name. I am present in every major breakthrough that humanity had brought, yet my efforts aren't rewarded. It was the path of an unsung hero, one that only brings pain and suffering towards the wielder, yet one that I chose voluntarily. Was I a masochist, perhaps? Or simply naïve, deluding myself into thinking that my efforts will be rewarded due to karma?

Time and time again I changed my identity- my soul in order to gain knowledge to spread amongst the ages. It was by my hand that fire was given to man; it was by my hand that I was able to discern the identity of runes, with the cost of an eye in return. It was by my hand that I tried to spend love and compassion amongst the masses, the end resulting in my third death by the hands of Humanity.

It was a single thread of reality amidst the myriad of illusions that I was able to craft for myself. A single shred of truth, amongst the lies that I have sown into the hearts of Humanity. Yet why is it that the lies are more revered than the truth?

/-/

Another work done. Another piece finished. It was a blade able to cut through Mysteries itself, able to affect and impair the Authority of the Gods. A few weeks spent, working on a blade that should've only taken me seconds to summon an ordinary one. Yet, what does the King do? He puts it in his Treasury, deems it to be beyond the use of the guards who safeguard Uruk from both monsters and men alike, with nothing but stalwart courage and ordinary steel.

Where was he when the demon of the southwest came? When Pazuzu brought with him drought and pestilence? He was out frolicking in the wilds, leaving his charges to die in the face of the Demon's assault. I dealt the demon a grievous blow, forced them to bless the city of Uruk for the greater betterment of all. Yet where were the praises that I had expected? The citizens only praised the King, who nevertheless mocked them for their lack of spines. The guards, many of which had fought, bled, and died alongside me whilst fighting the Demon, were mocked. Shamed. Splattered upon the ground like rotten swill. Where was their recognition? Where was their due?

There was none. For the King held the blood of the Gods, and so gained their qualities as well.

/-/

Magic was receding. Gaia did not like us bending the rules of reality. That was the truth of the situation, and most of the mages and charlatans were trying to preserve what was lost. Yet I say to the King that we only need to trick the World once more, to invent new ways to achieve the same results, to make sure that the World could never find evidences of our actions, and scratch our head in confusion.

Yet most of the mages clamored for the old ways, too drunk on lost power to realize the circumstance. Most called me a harlot for abandoning the old ways of magic, and others called for my head to be brought on a silver platter. The King, blessed with 'wisdom', gave me a smile and dismissed my suggestion, never giving it thought.

Now, most of the wielders of mana fail to materialize ether to reality, bound by the runes engraved on the rings that dictated the way on how the craft should be. Limiters, boxes- petty little containers that stifled the human imagination, where it stagnated and lost all virtue of common sense. Progress was measured in the amounts of previous magic recovered, instead of the new ways in which magic could be manifested in the world. I took this up to the King, who insisted on the words of divine providence paving his decision to keep the rings.

But there were no gods in this era. And for that matter, neither did 'wisdom'.

/-/

It was experience that jaded my eye, grinding all of my aspirations to dust. The march of time ensured that the progress of technology could go unhindered, yet it was missing part of the whole- only half of humanity advanced to the next era, while the other half did not. Fools who could not realize the extent of their actions, and thus doomed humanity as a whole.

This time, it had gotten ridiculous. Kingships were now based upon the act of pulling a sword from the stone, instead of knowing a land's upkeep, and the various circumstances relegated to that matter. Now the title of 'King' was synonymous to warrior, when in fact they should be the ones leading the battlefield at the back, swiftly making decisions to ensure victory. Chivalry had become a fool's philosophy, a way to ensure one's death by restricting codes of conduct.

Merlin tried to convince me, saying that it was Uther's wish that the sword must be pulled from the stone. I gave him one chance to prove his worth, monitoring his progress in making the King for every step of the way, yet alas he was ensnared by the pleasures of the flesh, his inattentiveness proving to be his undoing. Camlann had been the final straw, and I sentenced him towards Avalon, where he relives his mistakes alongside the young King who was nothing more than a little girl with a sword.

An ironic end for him and the child. Yet one that continued forever until this day.

/-/

Yet, one spark keeps me from just giving up and being nothing more than a vagabond. The promise of man living alongside nature, of machine living alongside man, and of magic melding with technology. Yet I know that this is nothing more than another cover-up - an illusion concealed by my fears and failures, of my jadedness and cynicism.

For all I ever wanted, ever since I made my first horseshoe, was for someone to recognize my efforts.


	9. On Offices, Revelations, and Spears

"I hate you."

As of the moment, we were currently inside my office, located upon a nice knoll of grass and built upon a hill. A sea breeze comes by every so often, bringing with it cool winds and salt, yet I can say with absolute certainty that I couldn't have chosen a better spot.

"Oh?" I replied, tilting my head to the side whilst my comrade glared at me with her silver eyes, "If memory serves me right, you were the one who boldly challenged me to a fight, and you won. Thus, the honor of managing the various species in the Reverse Side of the World naturally falls to you."

Reality warped and shifted, and a quick change of my coordinates allowed me to escape the sudden deluge of destruction that took away half the room. I sighed, staring at her with a reproachful look on my face, to which she simply scoffed and returned back to signing paperwork. Snorting at her clearly child-like attitude, I focused my attention back towards the ruined part of my office, and fixed it within a few seconds.

Nothing beats repairs like a good, old-fashioned use of Magic.

"What did we tell you about using Magic while within our vicinity?" A voice whispered in my ear, causing me to jolt backwards with a yelp. I growled not a second later, watching Gaia's silver eyes filled with sadistic mirth, while Alaya simply stood by with a wry smile. If it didn't look so wrong on her normally impassive face, I would have cheered her for finally finding joy.

...I just hope that it isn't at my expense.

"I was just fixing my office that Frea blew up", I nonchalantly replied, going back towards sorting the various pieces of paperwork required for the continued establishment of a working society. Was this the reason why Gaia hated humanity? Because we invented the concept of paperwork? "And I swear, if this paper trail doesn't disappear by the day, I'm calling all the Eastern dragons and offloading the work on them."

"Despicable."

"Slave driver."

"Sadist."

"Can it. It's called being efficient", I snapped back, making sure that they didn't see the agitated flush on my cheeks. Why am I always stuck with women who like to insult me, damn it?! I've got a reputation to protect! The dragons are now scoffing at me for being defeated by a mere 'elf', and _Fafnir_ out of all people called me 'whipped'!

Like _he's_ the one to talk, being pampered by Emo-Jeanne! Fucking hypocrite.

I sighed, shaking my head in order to dispel my thoughts. I'm pretty sure that I need a vacation right now, since I've been overworked for about...what I'm pretty sure is a long amount of time. Setting down the stack of paperwork towards the corner of my former desk, I look towards Gaia and Alaya, who managed to find my hidden stash of food and were now gorging on it like no tomorrow. Even Frea tried to keep her disgust from showing.

"I'm going out for a while."

"Sure."

"Bring back food when you return, and I'll allow you passage."

"Alright."

Negotiation, get. It's kind of weird that it was all it took for me to create a portal to reality. Back in the past, it involved trying to hold back a veritable wave of Phantasmal Beasts while Gaia howled in the background. Those were the days that I'd rather forget, but sadly remained in my mind. Damn mutts trying to tear off my clothes...

A tap on my left temple later, and the mechanism behind my eyepatch peeled away to reveal an unblinking blue eye, its draconian pupil trailing a continuous streak of light. Gaia froze, with silver eyes wide open with surprise, while Alaya's jaw dropped by a centimeter. Of course they recognize the eye; it was one of my most defining features, after all, representing what I had lost in one of my lives. "Odin."

"A previous identity– one of many that I wore on one of my lives", I said, a bitter smile forming on my face, "Had to make a new one from scratch, since Mimir was so insistent on taking it for himself. It didn't necessitate the hanging and the piercing, though." A growl escaped my lips. Not one of my most favorite moments, that one. "If I find that asshole again, I'll just chop his head off. Damn smug bastard."

With that, a golden portal sprung into existence, the mirage of a modern-day city appearing on the other end. I quickly stepped through, ignoring the piercing gazes currently burrowing deep into me and escaping through the other side.

For what it's worth, I'm not going back there again until I'm sure that they won't hang me up and interrogate me. Considering those women, I'm sure that they'd do it out for irony's sake.

In any case, I savored the relatively clean air of the suburbs, stretching my muscles as I walked through the streets. My clothing shimmered, replaced by a dark gray hoodie, a blue shirt, some black jeans, and white and blue sneakers. Glasses now replaced the eyepatch that I wore over my left eye, and heterochromic eyes of amethyst and sapphire stared out into the world beyond. The silver hair couldn't be fixed however, and so I was subject to scrutinizing stares by the random person that passed by.

A few minutes into my lovely stroll however, it was cut short by the sudden flare of prana at an area close to my position. A quick Analysis of my surroundings revealed that it came from a backyard about fifty meters away. Shifting myself towards that position, I found myself staring face-to-face with a spear headed towards my neck.

Considering that it was self-defense, I pulled out my dagger and stopped the blade right in its tracks, before quickly tapping the shaft and sending the weapon flying above the air. Instincts came in, a quick flick of my wrist flaring the blade as it shot out towards my attacker, yet a rune array stopped the thrust in its tracks. The spear that I had knocked away from my attacker's grip dug into the ground blade first, and I confirmed my suspicions about the handiwork.

"Gae Bölg?"

I turned back towards my attacker with a brow raised, only to find him staring at me with wide eyes and a gobsmacked expression in his face. Was it something I did? Or maybe it was just my clothes? I agree that it has a few clothes made out of a darker color, but it's not to the extent that they could belong in Emo-Jeanne's wardrobe!

"Is that...Gügnir?"

...Oh. It looks like I got my priorities wrong again.


	10. On His Identity As Odin

...Alright, I'll answer your questions, just stop trying to hound me about it! Damnable women, just what did I do to deserve this punishment...?

Let's go to the basics first. What's the difference between the gods of the Nordic pantheon and the rest? It's the concept of mortality. Should've been a big clue there, but it seemed like everyone missed it. As per usual. Now you see, back in those days after angsting over being unable go back to the simple job of blacksmithing, I began to travel around the World, mapping it out like a cartographer. Yes Gaia, I know that I had a death wish, but I wasn't exactly thinking straight.

You know, being a Magician and enduring.

Anyways, I headed north, aiming to discover what was beyond the mountains of my home, and I encountered a frozen wasteland, filled with beasts that I killed a long time ago for being too disgusting to come from a Phantasmal Beast. Yes, I had no idea that I was facing True Demons back then, but it explained why I always got bodied after the fights. Good thing I didn't die though, since I wouldn't have met Frea or be talking to you guys otherwise.

Along the way, I met a few travelers, escaping a few villages that had been razed down by Demons, and I found myself traveling with them for the better part of a millennium. Each of them had lost something important– their homes, their families, and their vestiges of humanity as well. Seeing a True Demon while having a perfectly normal mind makes for...bad situations.

Since it was in the days where I wasn't as versed with the First as I am today, I knew that I wouldn't survive much longer if I struck out alone. That thought made me stick with the travelers, learning about their lives from the stories they told over a campfire. I taught them what little I knew about my Sorcery, thinking that it could be shared amongst other people, and I got mixed results. The best that they were able to achieve was by using the First to use magic without the need for a god's blessing, and the worst was that...well, I'm sure you know what happens.

In a sense, they were my first apprentices, and probably the last ones that I would teach as well. Using the First, we managed to build up a kingdom in the north, consolidating the various humans left, and slowly expanded our holdings.

We knew that it wouldn't last, however. The Demons running around the north would soon attack the settlements that we were able to build, and so we spread the word, aiming to be cautious against forces beyond our control.

Considering that me and my disciples were technically the de-facto leaders of a budding kingdom, all it did was spread fear and panic– ironically spawning Demons right in the middle of the settlements.

Let it be known that we were just travelers, and not exactly-leader material. So we fought a defensive battle, razing settlements one after the other, while I searched for a way to drive them back.

Mimir said that he knew a way, and asked me to do a few little favors for him. You know what happened– at least, that's what they got right, after all these years. Hurts like a bitch, up until today, you know? Turned out, he was a True Demon too, and interrogated me about the whereabouts of the other humans. Killed him right where he stood, but he just came back as a dragon. Turned out he was a Divine Spirit, and spawned the Demons due to his hatred for the tiny little insects known as humanity. Paid him back in kind though, but the bastard fled along with the rest when the Age of Gods came to an end.

An eye for an eye. Ancient Babylonian, scholars say, but it's much older than that. Where do you think I got my nifty new eye? Hurts like a bastard every time I use it though, so I use it sparingly. Tried to take over my soul for every time I used it, but I managed to take care of it after a while.

Mystic Eyes of Concept Manipulation, is what I'd call them if I were one of those stuck-up Magi that always needs a term for everything. The portals that I make consists of me stringing together the concepts 'doorway', 'Reverse World', and 'connection'. It's a bastardized version of the Fourth, but it gets the job done nevertheless. Even though I've been used to its presence in a long time, it still hurts whenever I use it for an extended amount of time, which is why I got the eyepatch to help me deal with it.

In any case, when I returned from my encounter with that bastard Mimir, I was rewarded with a kingdom razed to the ground, my disciples dead and rendered to ash. It was a chilling thought, your companions dying while you were away, and it was enough to make me go berserk for a few centuries, slaughtering every Demon that I came across.

When I took care of Göetia, the guy recognized me as one who weakened most of his subordinates and allowed them to be sealed inside Solomon's book. It was funny, seeing the guy just rant about you, but it soon got annoying so I just shot him until he was dead.

And I'm sure you guys don't mind me using the Counter Force just to give my gun a little bit more oomph. Right?

...Right?

...You're scaring me with those stares...

/-/

\- Bree, explaining his identity as Odin to Gaia, Alaya, and Frea (under imminent duress)

/-/

I tell you, these women have no mercy. Currently, I'm hiding in Avalon, keeping myself silent amidst the vast fields of grass that covered the place, all the while distributing familiars all over the place to check for their arrival.

At the rate this is going, I'm bound to be safe...

...Damn it, I shouldn't have said that. "Why hello, Bree."

I kept silent. They couldn't know that I was here. They're trying to bait me into figuring out my position. It's why I must be silent, to be one with the knolls of golden wheat. Because I don't know what they'll do to me if I get caught.

A hand placed itself on my shoulder, its owner's voice just an inch away from my ear. "Merlin sold you out, idiot. Now take your punishment like a man."

I swear I'll kill that bastard.


	11. On Acquaintances, Bodysuits, and Meeting

It was an awkward silence. After all, meeting someone who just appeared out of thin air and batted you back with a 'Divine Weapon' could only garner that much attention. Now, it wasn't that I disliked the attention one bit, but considering that I just came here on a whim in order to save someone's life...Well, it's kind of bad for people to know your identity.

"Are you...Odin?"

Cu Chulainn was one of the most well-known heroes in the current times. His speed comparable to the fastest car, his will strong enough to survive from numerous fatal wounds, and the apprentice to one of the many scary women currently living in this world: Scathach. If there was a hero more renowned as him, then I guess I'd say King Arthur or Heracles. And I'm pretty sure that there's no way that they'll appear _here,_ out of all places.

"Knew him once." I said nonchalantly. In technicality, it was the truth- one of the identities that I managed to craft for myself in my past lives. The All-Father, the one who gave mankind the knowledge of runes in exchange for an eye and hanging himself for seven days in a row...Was it weird that the only part that the history books got correctly was the fact that my eye was taken away and I hung myself for a week? "Gave it to me on his deathbed. Keeping it until the right time comes."

"So someone managed to survive Ragnarok, and his weapon is currently in your possession." Cu's eyes narrowed, their beast-like pupils gaining a gleam of intelligence. "If I were you kid, I'd go hide somewhere far from wherever those pesky mages are. You must be unlucky to drop by on the eve of the Holy Grail War."

"I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much", I replied, nudging my chin towards the cursed spear, its blade still embedded on the ground. Cu laughed, which meant that I had a sense of humor that humans could finally appreciate. I think. Since being a Heroic Spirit transcends humanity in of itself, would my jokes and wit still apply towards normal humans? I've...got some experimenting to do later on. "And Holy Grail War?" I tilted my head in puzzlement, even if I already knew what it was supposed to be about, "I didn't know that there was an event like that tonight."

"And speaking of events..." I trailed off, glancing towards the redhead currently in the shed, staring at me with unbridled awe. A second later, my gaze was back towards Cu, who simply shrugged his shoulders at me. "...Why are you chasing a poor guy who can't even fight back?"

"Mage rules. Can't live with them, can't live without them", Cu replied nonchalantly, as expected of him. He might dislike it, but it was only his job. Nothing left to do than just carry on with life. Still, if I live the poor guy behind me, then it meant that every single magus currently in the city would rush towards his position and stamp out any evidence of magecraft in his head, or do something much worse. In simple terms, if I leave the redhead be, my efforts would be wasted.

Let it be known that I hate wasted effort. "Alright, how about you and I have a deal?" I suggested, and Cu's brow rose at my question. Good. That meant that he was interested. "You leave the kid alone, and I teach him about the Moonlit World, and all the bad juju that comes with it. Acceptable terms, no?" The demi-god's red eyes shifted towards his spear, which I quickly countermanded by pressing Gugnir's blade closer to his chest. "I do think you should accept this deal. You don't want to die this early in the war, right?"

"Ho?" Cu turned back towards me, a flash of anger flaring behind his impassive red gaze. A tense silence went between us for a few seconds, before Cu sighed and slumped hsi shoulders forward. "...Fine." He said, snarling at whoever he was talking to. I've had enough experience to determine whether or not a real person is talking to them, and we could do it. Don't assume that other people have the same thing as well. "You owe me a fight later though, young man. What's your name?"

"Bree", I quickly replied, a hint of relief going through my body when I realized that I had used my real name. "Nice to meet you, Irish man in a bodysuit."

"How do you even know that I'm Irish?"

"Only Irish Heroic Spirits wear bodysuits." I deadpanned, watching the man whirl his spear before leaping to the walls of the property. Really, such a show-off. Was it me, or were the standards for men back then _really_ low? Then again, there wasn't a lot much people back then, so their tastes might be justified.

Just, that bodysuit...

I sighed, turning towards the poor schmuck that somehow got involved in the Moonlit World. The guy had red hair and amber eyes, which was weird considering that he's a Japanese, but whatever – I have more important shit to do. Like stopping this guy from staring at me, for one. No matter how much I'm desperate for some release right now, I wouldn't be finding it inside another man's ass.

"Hate to break it to you kid, but I'm a male and have a dong to prove it." I said, smirking at the kid's sputtering. Ah, it's good to be back in my element. I've been getting one-upped in conversations lately, so I need to let loose. I'm sorry kid, but you're going to have to take one for the team.

Just to be sure that Cu was gone, I closed my eyes and Analyzed the surrounding area, up to a distance of two hundred fifty meters. When I opened my eyes, I found myself sighing, the beginnings of a migraine already forming on my face. "Look kid", I said, catching the redhead's attention as he turned towards me, "I don't know if it's my presence here or just your luck, but currently we've got another one of those guys just around the corner. Just stay put and let me take care of this. Might as well be my fault, anyway..."

And so, I jumped up from my spot and over the wall, with Gügnir's blade trailing with an ethereal light. There, I spotted a guy in red, with white hair and gray eyes, and I smirked as I brought Gügnir's blade down.

I saw his eyes widen for an instant, before they suddenly grimaced in pain at the same time I felt prana course through Gügnir's blade. Which meant that I had a clear shot in killing the bastard...

...Wait. White hair? Gray eyes? Tanned skin? Wearing red clothing that's actually the Shroud of Martin? I changed my mind. I'm not killing this guy.

"EMIYA, buddy!"

Oh no. I am going to do _so_ much worse.

And so, as I threw Gügnir to the side and ignored the sound of a collapsing wall, I embraced the red-clad Heroic Spirit with a gleeful smile on my face. One that happily promised painful times whenever I was near. Don't mind if I borrow your boy-toy for a bit, Alaya. I'm sure that others could sub in while he's out on Grail leave.


	12. On Counter Guardians and Teatime

Me and Counter Guardians go along like oil and fire. Put me together in a room with them, and the room goes up in flames. Which meant that I stuck with them as much as possible. Most saw me as an annoyance that clung to Alaya's hide like a lifeboat (their opinions were quickly remanded after a glorious beatdown), while I genuinely got along with others. And by others, I do mean Jeanne D' Arc. It's a crime to make someone as good as her a Counter Guardian, so I took the master up to CGR (Counter Guardian Resources, headed by Alaya, of course) and convinced the lady that I could give her a better life. So, using the powers of my wondrous eyepatch, I managed to get the concept of a 'Counter Guardian' from her soul and replace it with 'human'. It meant that she's back to reincarnating as Jeanne D' Arc for a long time. I think she's still in France, helping out as a nurse to a hospital.

...I swear, that girl is too pure for this sinful earth.

The main point is that Counter Guardians and I don't really get along, considering I have the power to shape reality to my will and my motives aren't exactly...well-known. It's the main point as to why the Counter Force ruthlessly hunts down Sorcerers – it's just risk management for them. Which is why it's always fun whenever I try to piss them off if I get the chance.

Also, the redhead that I saved a few moments ago was actually EMIYA's past self. I could now see the series of events as to how he got duped into a contract. Maybe I should go file another case to CGR.

Although, who was I kidding. EMIYA'S a jackass, so I won't file a complaint until he loses the sarcasm and past angst. Guy has a stick up his ass a mile wide that it's hard to negotiate with him. Damn idiotic bullheadedness...making me take more effort than usual to save your damn soul.

In any case, the four of us were seated in the redhead's living room (Shirou Emiya, I think? This _was_ EMIYA's past self, after all), currently sipping tea and ignoring the fact that Gugnir is currently taking up an extra seat. They also tried their best to ignore the fact that it was floating, and was currently shaped into an ethereal form of Jeanne D' Arc. I am guessing that the latter observation is due to Alaya's fault. "So, you guys went to check up on the redhead since you figured that Irish dude in a bodysuit would cut him up again if he figures out that the redhead's still alive?"

"That was what we were aiming to do, yes." The girl with the twintails said, all the while trying her best not to show that her legs were currently shaking. Seriously, how cute. She's like Frea in the sense that they bug you about literally everything, but she doesn't have the power to back it up. Nor is she an Elf. Nor does she have the same cup size, but that's beside the point. The point is that she's currently scared of the ethereal figure currently sipping tea that could also double as a Divine Weapon, and a spear that would never miss a target.

Of course, not that there's such a thing like that. What Gugnir does is just replicate the concept of 'accuracy' every second its active, and so the World has no choice but to let the damn thing have its way and be done with it. As of the moment, it's probably accurate enough to cause the nucleus of an atom to split apart. Not that it would do anything else unless I hurl a chunk of pure uranium at my enemies first. Although in that case, it might as well be a note of suicide, since I'll get caught up in the atomic blast as well.

Back to the main topic, the girl with the twin tails is obviously trying to stall for time, considering that she might be facing an unknown figure with the capability to wield a Divine Weapon. At least she knew that even EMIYA, for all his skill with the sword, would be unable to help her if I deign to kill her right where she stood. So currently, I'm taking an educated guess that she's trying to mollify whatever kind of hostile intent that was left in me. Also, she thinks I'm Odin. Well, I _was_ Odin, but the point still stands:

I'm so milking this situation for my own amusement.

"So the redhead accidentally stumbled into the real face of the Moonlit World, and has no idea on what to do." I observed, glancing towards the redhead that was currently busying himself with brewing more tea. I could appreciate the effort that he puts into this, and I also can't help but feel a little bit miffed that the tea I could create with the First pales in comparison to what I was currently drinking. And so, I smiled. The kind of smile that would send shivers up one's spine, because you don't know what they'll do. The girl in the twintails paled. EMIYA tensed in preparation for an attack. The redhead was still brewing tea in the kitchen. And so, I made my statement.

"Well, looks like there's nothing more to do than just take him as an apprentice."

Tea were spat out from their respective holdings, and I couldn't help but snicker at the sight of them trying to calm themselves down after my declaration. Indeed - rejoice, young redhead, for I shall take you from this blasted place and turn you into a worthy successor! Of course, given the fact that the pair in front of me are currently staring at me with wide eyes and dropped jaws, it meant that they considered my words as actual truth (lol).

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Ah, at last, the redhead finally comes into the conversation, taking a seat by my side as he began distributing new portions of tea. I took a sip, savored the taste, cursed the fact that I couldn't do a better job that him, and finally spoke.

"You're coming with me. I'm going to train you in order to become a hero."


	13. On Students, Decisions, and Cooks

Now, I don't want anyone else to be using the First. That matter should only be reserved for my use only, and for a good reason - I was good friends with both Gaia and Alaya. Of course, it's not as much as friends compared to _not_ being eviscerated by Primate Murder whilst defending against countless waves of Counter Guardians, but it's definitely a step-up of the Counter Force's relationship with Sorcerers like me.

Also, Shirou is too pure for his own good. I don't want to turn him into me.

"Sensei, is this really necessary?" Yes it is, my student. Oh _God_ how much I wanted to say that. It's been a long time since I actually taught someone on how to do things, so I'm feeling a bit giddy. I guess I'll just toss a sack of Shirou's homemade food as recompense for not helping Frea with the paperwork back in the Reverse Side of the World. I'm sure she'll understand. "I mean, it _does_ kind of make sense to use a skintight bodysuit for training, but..."

Indeed, the bane of all men trying out skintight bodysuits. The cantaloupe that never fades away. "Alright, fine. Take it off, and I'll just give you a tunic and some pants. Some boots as well for your feet." My student (I am loving that name already) nodded, stripping off his clothing before tossing them out towards a hamper, where it was quickly obliterated from existence. It was supposed to be a prank about Irishmen and their choice of clothing, but once again I am reminded of Cu Chulainn and swore to burn the damn thing.

With a sigh and a snap of my fingers, folded clothes appeared on the low table, with Shirou picking them up in order to wear them. I nodded once he was finished, mollified that my fashions sense hadn't deteriorated ever since I had discovered the runic array for making sure that my clothes always stay fresh. A dark green tunic and black pants made for a simple yet functional look, while the brown boots that he had put on were rugged enough to survive the various trials that Shirou would encounter during his 'training'.

"Done yet?"

"I'm ready, Sensei."

"Good", I replied with a smile on my face, tapping on my left temple as the eyepatch's mechanism got to work. A dragon's pupil stared out from underneath the eyepatch, and a small golden spark fizzled to life. A second later, an oval-shaped distortion materializing from thin air and glowing a solid gold. "After you, then", I said, stepping aside as I stared at my student, who was eyeing the portal with a complicated expression on his face.

"Sensei..." he said, staring up at me with doubtful amber eyes, "...Are you sure that this is the right path for me to become a Hero?"

"I don't know", I replied with a shrug, smirking inwardly as Shirou looked at me with a blank stare. "Look, this is your life. You jumped at the chance to study under me in order to become a Hero. I already made all the necessary changes so those close to you would be able to live on peacefully." The energetic tiger had her memories changed, while the purple-haired girl was subjected to spiritual cleansing. That, and her home had been purified from any other bugs that might've been crawling under the woodwork. It was harder for her, since she was already acquainted with the Moonlit World, so I had to negotiate a deal with her that she was able to visit him at most twice a month. Lucky for me, she agreed. I didn't want to forcefully put someone under my thrall, no matter how much I was already inured to it.

"You can have second thoughts. You can back out at the last moment, never able to take a step forward." I said, and as Shirou's shoulders slumped forward, I placed a hand on his shoulder. "But, I won't hate you for it. If you want to return back towards your normal life, I'll erase the fake memories that I implanted on Taiga, and I'll tell Sakura that you'll stay here. You might lose your opportunity to become a hero, but sometimes there are more important things than pursuing your goals."

...Damn. I'm really nailing this 'mentor' archetype, aren't I? Is this the reason why Merlin wanted to do this? Nah, I think he was sold on 'getting to play pranks on my student and getting away with it'.

"So, Shirou? What would you do?"

My student (hopeful) was silent, his brows furrowed in thought. Once, twice, thrice I saw him waver, with amber eyes softening for a few moments before hardening with resolve. Finally, after a good five minutes of waiting, he came to a decision...and took a step forward.

I smiled. "Prepare yourself, Shirou. The path of a Hero is fraught with dangers."

"I understand."

"Do you really?" I raised an eyebrow at him as a smirk formed of my face, a quick gesture of the hand making the golden portal fly towards my student. He barely got out a scream before he disappeared in a flare of golden light, leaving me alone in the prodigiously empty living room. I sighed, shaking my head with a smile before I jumped into the portal as well, and I found myself staring at the shack that I designated as my office. A groan sounded from somewhere nearby, and I found Shirou face-first in the grassy knoll. I barely managed to suppress a snort before I lightly kicked him inn the shin.

"Come on, get up", I chided him, watching the redhead push himself off the ground as he stood beside me, gawking at his surroundings. As per usual, the unchanging weather conditions in the Reverse Side of the World meant that my student was currently seeing an ever-shifting hue of colors. I mean, the view _is_ nice yes, but after spending many a night watching the sky for so long, I've long become inured to it. Speaking of watching... "Listen Shirou", I said, snapping my student out of his trance as he focused on me, "The Reverse Side of the World is normally a dog-eats-dog place, so if you ever found yourself harassed by a few Phantasmal Beasts, just say that you're currently my apprentice and I'm letting you tour the Reverse Side of the World by yourself."

"Sensei..." Shirou blinked at me, with curiosity and something akin to awe in his gaze. It felt weird, but oddly satisfying. "Are you famous here?"

"I guess you could say that."

" **BREE!** "A voice rang through the grassy knoll, the wind stopping in fear of the providence that befell upon me. Shirou stood frozen, his eyes wide and an expression of pure fear etched onto his face. Now that I think about it, it's good training. Learning how to fear absolute death now would desensitize him from the fear of the 'training' later on. " **You dare allow a human to cross towards the Reverse Side!? And with not a single speck of food on you, no less!** "

I winced, leaning towards Shirou so that the demon (elven) woman couldn't hear me, "There's scarier people than me, Shirou." I said, my tone completely serious, "As you can see, you have met one of them already."

Quickly, I turned around and etched a series of primeval runes, flashing a burning gold amidst the shimmer of space that hammered into me. An absolute destructive force met an absolute order reinforced by an ill-gotten Divinity, and the two canceled out almost immediately after they met. "Look!" I said, grabbing Shirou by the shoulders and using him as a human shield against Frea, "Don't kill me in front of my apprentice! Besides, I got him as a cook!"

Silence reigned through the still air of the knoll, and Frea's raised arm immediately froze upon hearing my words, her silver eyes staring wide-eyed at the teenager I currently had in my hands. I immediately felt sorry for my student when she smiled though - but only a little bit. I'm not that devoid of humanity, after all.

"Bree...did you say that we have a cook?"


	14. On Family, Origins, and Protocol

If one looked at it from the outside, we might as well be a dysfunctional family. One that was insanely powerful and could eliminate anyone with barely even a thought, but nevertheless a family. Considering my previous relationship with Frea, she might as well be the mother, with both Gaia and Alaya acting as mother-in-laws from different sides of the family tree that just can't seem to get along. Emo-Jeanne might as well be the irresponsible daughter that you couldn't help but spoil, and Shirou is the responsible sibling that makes sure that the household stays afloat. Fafnir's the household pet.

So, that is two extensions of the Counter Force, two different species of Phantasmal Beast, a Heroic Spirit, and the First Sorcerer and his apprentice. Quite a bunch of personalities living under one roof, I must say. "Sensei, Jeanne-san is currently rampaging around the lake!"

"Leave her be", I told him, a thin smile on my face, "If she keeps this up she'll only attract Frea's attention." At the mention of the Elf's name, Shirou immediately shivered. I did as well. It was something of a reflex at this point, like the saying 'talk about the devil and he shall appear'. "Besides, Alaya's busy pruning the timelines, and Gaia is currently chatting with Merlin in Avalon. Frea's buried in work-" I gave myself a pat on the shoulder for that, "-which means that it's the two of us alone inside the house for the moment."

"Now", I said, pointing towards the cushion in front of the low table, "You've been handling your training well since the last...well, time doesn't exist here, but it's probably been quite a while. It's time to go through the next step." My eye narrowed ever-so slightly, and Shirou immediately stood to attention. Good, that means that he's paying attention to detail. "Create a blade."

Shirou nodded, a flare of his Circuits signalling the creation of a sword. It was a one-handed shortsword, with iron being used as a base material along with melted phoenix feathers to push its affinity closer to fire. The hilt was made out of simple leather-wrapped wood, and the pommel ended in a simple cap that was nailed down on the handle. The blade was single-edged, measuring about thirty-five centimeters long, and a false edge that extended about five centimeters away from the tip of the blade. Overall, it was a pretty good work for something like a rush job, with only a few minor faults along the flat end of the blade that didn't really interfere with its purpose.

"Good", I said, a thin smile on my face as Shirou smiled sheepishly at me. "You already did the ritual with Frea, right?" My student nodded, and I noticed a faint flush on his cheeks. Well, the ritual _did_ require close contact after all, and since he had Avalon in him on the Reverse Side of the World, it meant that he wouldn't grow old as long as the young girl stays on the wheat-lined shores. "What did she say to you about your Origin?"

"To see if you can change it somehow. She seemed a little bit worried when she told me to see you."

Of course she was. Hard-ass she might be, Frea was a bit too sympathetic to the cause of humanity for some reason - an aberration of her species that normally detested humanity for driving them out of their natural habitats. She knew the absolute depths of humanity's evil - there was a reason why she was with me in Uruk, after all - but she still held hope that things might change for the future. An optimist amidst the various responsibilities and duties that weighed her down, standing proud when all things are at their bleakest. Of course she would tell Shirou to come and see me, on the off-chance that I might have the skills to change a person's Origin. She told me about my student's Origin, after all, immediately after the ritual.

Sword. The Origin of someone who would be molded and shaped by the hands of who controlled him - in other words, the highest form that he could ever be was simply an empathic weapon.

...Now that I think about it, it would make sense for Frea to approach me about this. I was the only person that she knew that successfully changed Origins, after all.

"I _could_ change it. However, it would mean that you would lose the thing that defined you the most. Would you still take the risk of doing so?" In all honesty, I hoped that might say no. Changing one's Origin meant going back to that place wherein nothing made sense, and so was a very dangerous thing to do unless one has complicit agreement from the Counter Force.

"Sensei, does my Origin have the potential to hurt people?" Shirou asked, his amber eyes still wavering with indecision. I sighed, deciding to answer it the best way I knew how: the blunt truth.

"Yes."

"...I see." He grew silent, stroking his chin with a stray hand. Time passed, and I found myself entertaining Emo-Jeanne, who had gotten back from her excursion to the lake. Her clothes were wet, with most of them sticking to her skin, and I sighed as I materialized a towel and chucked it towards her, followed by a few pieces of simple yet comfortable clothing. She scowled at me, then realized that it didn't work on me and simply huffed her way towards the bathroom.

Really, that girl should be more honest with herself.

A few moments pass, and Emo-Jeanne exited the bathroom with a dark blue shirt and black leggings, wiping off the last vestiges of wetness from her hair with the towel. I didn't bother telling her that she could've just used her flames instead. It was far more amusing to see her come to that conclusion herself. She took a seat on the low table, and Fafnir - who was shrunk down into the size of a housecat - immediately leaped towards her lap. An opportunist if I ever saw one. I winked at the dragon, and a ruby eye winked back.

"Hey, old man", Emo-Jeanne spoke up after a moment or two of silence. It was really hard to keep track of time here, "What's the redhead doing?" I quirked a brow at her, a look of wonder on my face at the fact that _Emo-Jeanne_ out of all people was curious about Shirou. "I-I'm not curious about him or anything!" She squawked at me, her lips twisted downwards in a derisive sneer, and I pretended to forget the fact that her pale skin looked flushed. "Geez old man, get your mind out of the gutter or I'll let Fafnir have you for lunch!"

"I'll do it, Sensei."

"Alright", I said with a nod, turning towards Fafnir and speaking in Draconic, _"Look for Gaia and Alaya. Tell them that I need their permission on something."_

 _"_ _Acknowledged_ _",_ the dragon replied, before unfurling its wings and leaping out of his spot on Emo-Jeanne's lap, causing the Servant to scream at the sudden movement. Before she could berate her pet (in her words) however, Fafnir was gone in a flash of golden light. Her first source of information gone, pale orbs turned towards me, which I quickly deflected by staring towards the kitchen.

"Shirou. Mother-in-law protocol. You know what to do."\

"Just what the hell is going on here!?"


	15. On Shirou's Cooking

I don't know why Sensei's first test for me was to cook a decent meal that was enough for over thirty people, but I decide to oblige with him for the moment. Maybe he was planning on testing out my hand-eye coordination, and my ability to efficiently plan out tasks? Or maybe it just seems to be another one of Sensei's weird quotes.

While I listed down the ingredients and Sensei materialized them out of thin air, my thoughts soon went to my benefactor, the one who was going to teach me the path of a Hero. Tohsaka said that he was a Divine Spirit inside a human body - like a god possessing someone to carry out their own will. Once I confronted Sensei about it though, he simply laughed and pointed at his glasses, telling me that they were a seal that made sure that he was just seen as an ordinary human. I was suspicious back then of course, and so asked Sensei to take it off...

...At least I managed to wake up two hours later, with nothing more than a splitting headache for my troubles.

In any case, when Sensei first chucked me through a portal that apparently belonged to somewhere called the Reverse Side of the World, (I didn't know where it was, but it sounded far away from Fuyuki that I didn't even bother asking Sensei about it) I was faced with Death incarnate itself. After the quick brush of death, Sensei told me that its name was Frea, an Elf. She didn't look like one of those stereotypical elves with the long ears, but she _did_ have the unreal beauty that was described in most of the books that I read back when I was a child.

After that close encounter with death, Sensei then asked me to cook. For apparently thirty people. I didn't know _why_ I'm supposed to cook for thirty people when we're just four people in the house, but he silenced me with a stare that told me that I would get my answers later.

So I cooked. If it was any consolation, then Sensei saw it fit to provide me with any kinds of ingredients that I could think off. It was also off-putting just to see raw food suddenly appear on a plate with just a wave of a hand, but it was also incredibly useful. If I could do such a thing, then it meant that there would be less money spent on the food budget. Fuji-nee already eats so much food anyway, so it might be strangling the household's budget...

...Right, Fuji-nee isn't here.

/-/

I could now see why Sensei told me to cook for thirty people. The last two arrivals...Gaia and Alaya, Sensei said, ate most of the food, with Frea being a close second. In an instant, I found the food being devoured at a rapid pace, and the veritable pile was slowly being dredged away by Gaia and Alaya, who were now fighting over the larger share of the food.

As much as Sensei would like to disagree, I wasn't an idiot. Kiritsugu told me all about Gaia and Alaya when he was first teaching me about magecraft, and I was almost tempted to sneeze at the amount of prana that the two carried around like it was nothing. I knew that they were currently constraining themselves to a physical body, but it scared me to think that they still carried this much power inside of them in such a sealed state. Additionally, there was the girl that was playing with the little dragon, who was devouring the meal without any restraint whatsoever, and she certainly smelled like the blue guy in the bodysuit. Sensei called him Lancer, and told me that he was a Heroic Spirit...was the girl in front of me the same?

More importantly, just how did Sensei know all these people?

/-/

Bree sat on his spot, his spoon idly turning over a spoonful of rice as he ate it without much gusto. Flavor exploded in his mouth, and his body was tempted to burst due to the wondrous properties of the food in front of him, but he managed to restrain himself with an iron will that exceeded millennia. Now, there existed a plausible explanation as to why he couldn't just create the ultimate food with nothing more than the First itself as a base. It was because there was now another Sorcerer on the land, one carrying a derivative of the First that specialized itself in food.

Should he call himself lucky that he found him first, or should he be prepared for more troublesome times to come? He didn't know, but all he could do for the moment was keep on eating.

/-/

Gaia was willing to admit _just this once_ that the human art of cooking was nothing short of a miracle manifested on the World. Morsels upon morsels of food were stuffed into her mouth, but the hunger just didn't seem to run dry. No doubt it was aided by the cacophony of smells that her nose received, sending signals of satisfaction throughout her whole body, and she couldn't help but moan _just a little bit_ when she bit down on something that was originally a pig.

It would seem that Bree had made up for his mistake with a result that eclipsed all that she had ever seen before. Indeed a chef was more preferable than simply cooked food, for the ingredients could already be summoned by his command.

Just what had she been missing throughout her whole life?

/-/

Alaya knew that her progeny had achieved such marvels like successfully reaching the Crimson Moon's corpse. But, to achieve such mastery over the act of preparing food itself...

For all of her years, she never thought that humanity could unlock the hidden Sixth. Well, she had figured that it existed when Bree demonstrated his sub-par skill in cooking, but she was simply joking.

Now however, she wasn't too sure...

Oh, the instinct to smite the boy on the spot was there. She was, after all, an extension of the Counter Force, and it was her sworn duty to eliminate all possible threats to her charges – Sorcerers included. With just a simple twitch of her finger, she could easily kill the redhead, and expunge his existence from the Records.

But then again, it was just the ability to apply the concept of 'perfection' to food. What could possibly go wrong?

/-/

Frea pursed her lips, staring at her food with the same expression as Bree's. It was weird; she knew that his so-called 'apprentice' was just another ordinary human, not even coming close to a single ounce of Sorcery. But why does the food seemed to taste like it had touched the Root itself?

She suppressed the desire to release a moan of pleasure. An Elf like her shouldn't give in to carnal pleasures. They were supposed to represent the intelligence of the Phantasmal Species Species, and so it would be degrading as a representative of her race to just lose reason and–

–She moaned.

/-/

Jeanne kept on shoving morsel after morsel of food into her mouth. She squawked, watching as Fafnir took a piece of steak and flew off to who-knows-where. Flames gathered by her feet, her temper flaring as she grit her teeth, but forced herself to calm down.

If she burned the shack down, it would mean that she wouldn't be able to eat more food. A twitch formed in her eye, deciding the costs and benefits of leaving the shack unburnt, and with a resigned sigh she went back to eating her food.

She experienced Heaven soon after.

/-/

"Sensei, why are all your friends currently squirming in place?" I asked him, and an amethyst eye turned to my direction, twitching ever-so slightly.

"You'll know soon, Shirou. You'll know soon."


	16. On Origins, Raffles, and Identity

"Alright, gather round people, the main program's about to start." I said, clapping my fingers as the other members of the household went towards the living room at a pace that was even slower than a snail. It was weird, especially since they acted like hyperactive savages when it was time for meals, but I simply chalked it up to Shirou for his usual cooking.

Soon, the rest of the beings currently in my shack had taken a seat around the coffee table. Gaia and Alaya were bickering over the most efficient way to prune timelines, which was obviously expected of them. Frea had a bored look on her face, and her hand kept twitching, as if I was about to play a prank any second now and therefore have a justifiable reason to kill me immediately. Emo-Jeanne seemed a bit miffed that she didn't have enough play time with Fafnir, but there was a glimmer of excitement behind her pale eyes.

Indeed, what I current held in an armlock was nothing more than a little old box but its contents were an important matter.

After all, the words 'Ideas for Emiya Shirou's New Origin' was clearly written on the side of the box. It had been nothing but a damning effort to convince both Gaia and Alaya that the procedure needed to be done, but that was only after needling me about pushing their own ideas. Basically, I'm doing this as a loophole to make sure that I don't get anything stupid like 'Bedpost'.

By the way, Shirou had his own suggestions too. "Alright, now that we're all here, I'm going to draw Shirou's new Origin from the box...Fingers crossed that I picked something good." I sighed amidst the various stares coming from the peanut gallery, and reached my hand into the box...

"...Really, Gaia?" I deadpanned, sending a flat glare towards the silver-eyed personification of nature, "Why would you even _suggest_ that his new Origin become 'Predator'? Do you want him to sexually harass every girl he meets? Moving on..."

"Hey!"

I ignored Gaia's retorts and concentrated on the box, trying to pick an option that I won't actually mind. I can't use my Sorcery here though, since Gaia and Alaya would just notice it and whine about being unfair. Oh well, at least I hope that the next one is a good one...

"...Plaything." I scanned around the room, searching for any kind of reaction to the word, and I found Alaya's eyes darting all over the place. Well, at least she had the decency to look embarrassed. "I knew from the moment that I read this word that it had you all over it..."

"...It was supposed to be a joke."

Silence reigned in the air for a few seconds, followed by my eyepatch opening by its own will and staring at Alaya. Let's see...Well, there's 'Alaya' and 'humor' there...

Holy shit. Alaya actually made a joke. Uh, moving on...

"Let's see here...'Household?' Shirou, this has you all over it." I sent a dry look towards my student, and the redhead laughed, as if he was caught in the act. "Ah well, at least it's not as bad as the other ones, so we'll keep this as an option."

"Let's see the next one...Huh, 'Creation'. Not a bad idea per se. At least I could count on you, Frea."

"Wha–"

Ignoring my faux-pas, I reached into the box for the last time, meeting Emo-Jeanne's gaze as I did so. I opened the piece of paper, staring at the singular word written on it with a thin smile on my face. It looks like she's more observant than I thought.

"Well, it looks look like there's a winner. Good job, Jeanne." I said, making the altered Heroic Spirit sputter out denials of helping me come to a decision. I ignored her and turned to Shirou, nodding towards him as a golden portal formed beside me.

"Sensei", the redhead said, a curious expression on his face as he walked towards my side, a hand tentatively stretched towards the portal that I hooked up. "What did Jeanne-san write on the paper?"

"It's quite simple, Shirou", I said, smiling at him while ruffling his hair, "You get to have an Origin that most of us would want to switch for."

"And that is...?"

"Choice."

/-/

The Root is both an awe-inspiring and a dangerous place. It is the repository of all knowledge that could ever exist in multiple universes, and so could potentially drive one insane due to the inflow of information. Returning back from the Root is a futile endeavor at most, if one didn't use the knowledge that they gained in order to escape.

The reason why I was forced to combat an endless waves of Counter Guardians plus Primate Murder was because the knowledge that I gleaned from the Root was an ability so simple yet terrifyingly devastating when used in the right hands.

The ability to hide from the Root itself. Or in other terms, create new knowledge that could never be replicated by the denizens of every single universe.

And now, I used that knowledge to do the impossible.

I looked through Akasha itself, seeing through every single iterations of the human called 'Emiya Shirou'. I searched through his history, his original name before the end of the Fourth Grail War. I knew his true name, his original Origin before his was forcibly changed into 'Sword', and _knew_ what I had to do.

And so, finally understanding the existence known as Masamune Shirou, I delved deep into his soul, seeing all his memories from an infinite number of universes, until I arrived at the Singularity – the Root of Shirou's existence inside Akasha. And with a snap of a finger, 'Sword' was turned into 'Choice'.

I opened my eyes, finding myself back in the shack, with both Gaia and Alaya contemplating murder. Frea seemed disgusted, but there was also a hint of guilt, wherein I knew that she only did so out of reflex. Jeanne widened her eyes at me, before facing someplace else, while Fafnir stood in place, rooted by what he had seen. All in all, a pretty productive day.

"Please don't kill me."


	17. On Visitors, Paperwork, and Marriage

After looking over my shoulder for the entire day, I had decided that the household wasn't going to kill me for my blatant disregard of Akasha's rules. Sure, it felt like I was under the hammer from time to time, but at least it wasn't a guaranteed chance if they saw me. Frea was now engaging me in casual conversation, albeit between huge piles of paperwork. Emo-Jeanne was still avoiding me along with Fafnir, but they'd return back to normal anytime soon.

Although, being stuck with cleaning duty sucked. It is only in this situation did I realize that I have been taking Shirou for granted. It's quite a humbling thought, but life must still go on.

As of the moment, Shirou's currently busying himself in the forge that I added to the shack. Yes, it is an actual forge. Yes, it does hold everything that both Shirou and I would need in the future. Yes, it's also the place where I teach him my Sorcery. Yes, no one else is allowed inside except for Frea. She scares the both of us, so it's better to just give her what she wants.

It's our only bastion against the overwhelming presence of women in the shack. I would hearkened it to the name of 'Man-Cave' but Shirou – spoilsport as he is – just liked to call it the 'Forge'. I mean, don't get me wrong, it definitely sounds cool, but we need a name that would give some knowledge as to the room's purpose.

Back to what I was doing, I was currently micromanaging the various brooms used to clean the living room when the doorbell rang. The last time I checked, there was no such thing installed on the door. Now who could be responsible for doing so...I sighed. It looked like I need to talk to my student again. In any case, there was a door that needed answering, so I let the brooms fall around me as I walked towards the door.

The moment I reached the doorknob though, I had a slight premonition. Like my life would get worse if I opened the door in front of me. However, if I simply let the person on the other side of the door hanging, I'd be chewed out by Shirou. And so, thinking about the unfairness of it all that even my student has power over me, I opened the door.

And I immediately cursed myself for even doing so in the first place. "Uh...Hello."

What was standing in front of my current home was a saint. One that was French, had a thick braid that reached to her hips, and clear blue eyes. She was the splitting image of Emo-Jeanne, if she didn't bleach her hair and wore some contacts. It is, after all, Jeanne D' Arc in the flesh. "I...haven't missed the Counter Guardian get-together, right?"

Jeanne blinked, and promptly held a hand over her mouth to stop her laughter from spilling over. "So you really _do_ live here, Bree." She said after a few moments of straightening herself up, "In any case, can I come in?"

"Sure", I replied, moving out of the doorway and letting the former Counter Guardian in. "Just remember though", I said, my face growing stern as Jeanne looked at me with curious eyes, "I'm currently married."

On instinct, I jumped to the side, barely escaping the maw of destruction that appeared right under my feet. My head bucked forward the moment I landed though, due to a paper fan slamming across the back of my head with the force of a truck.

"I'm so sorry about my _comrade_ here", a new voice piped up, her voice filled with warmth and comfort that belied the demon beneath. Of course it was Frea. Of course she had to appear now. "As you can see, he has some few screws loose, so I would appreciate if you were mindful of him." Then she swiveled towards me, and gone was the facade, and the demon surfaced. "Now as for you, I do think it's time for you to do the paperwork while I entertain our guest over here."

"Yes ma'am." I immediately replied, going towards the office with a spring in my step. Before I opened the knob however, I turned towards the pair of women with a smirk on my lips. "See? She has me whipped already. It's marriage in all but name."

I relished the sound of Frea's scream as I immediately scrambled to the office.

/-/

"Bree, have you seen Fafnir, by any chance?" I blinked, craning my neck upwards to see Frea poking her head inside the door, an intense look on her face.

"Just a moment", I replied, closing my eyes and sending a quick burst of prana through my surroundings with a quick Analysis. A second passed, and I opened my eyes to see Frea looking at me in curiosity. "I have a question", I said, raising a hand whilst the other kept on signing, "Why do you want to know Fafnir's location?"

"Jeanne– no, not the emo one – asked for it. Says she wants to say something to the dragon." She replied with a roll of her eyes, "You think there's a story there?"

"So what, we're some sort of request agency now?" I deadpanned, and the Elf replied with a shrug. "And of _course_ there's a story there", I answered, rising up from my seat and leaving a clone behind to manage the paperwork. Huh, why _haven't_ I done this before? Damn it. "If there wasn't a story, then I wouldn't be coming along with you for some amusement."

Frea frowned, her silver eyes boring deep into my own as she entered the office and locked the door. I blink, raising an eyebrow at her for the completely different action to my prediction, which was compounded when she started fiddling with her fingers. "Bree..." She began, "Can we...not tell the others that we were married?"

I blink. What? "Uh...Why?"

"It's embarrassing..."

"Really."

"I mean, think of what the others would say if they found out that I was married to you."

"That I'm a lucky man?"

"That I have poor taste in men, but that's a close follow-up. Thank you for the compliment."

"Ouch..."

"...Let's just find Fafnir already."


	18. On Shapeshifting, Feuds, and Grudges

The two twins stared into each other's eyes, with Fafnir doing its best to resolve the conflict. I could see confusion written all over its snout though, so I could tell that he wasn't making progress. It's just sad, really– the moment where a dragon has to mediate things for Heroic Spirits. Though, I've been through worse. Like tying myself to the Reverse Side of the World in order to prevent Gaia and Alaya from sending out endless waves of Counter Guardians and Phantasmal Beasts.

"Fafnir, can't you shapeshift?" I asked the dragon with a raised brow, and the dragon stared at me with confusion in its eyes before they brightened with realization. A soft golden glow suffused the black-scaled dragon, before it morphed into a human-like figure with shaggy brown hair and red eyes. He was wearing formal wear consisting of a long-sleeved white polo, with a black vest and slacks to go with it. I stared. The Arc twins stared. The not-Emo-Jeanne's eyes shone.

"Sieg–!"

"YOU'RE A GUY!"

Silence reigned through the air in the wake of my outburst, as the Arc twins and Frea stared at me in incredulity. In an instant I was on the dragon-turned-male, shaking his shoulders back and forth as I tried to ascertain his sex. My hand reached downward, grasping something that only appears in males, and tears brimmed from my eye amidst the various sounds of outcry coming from the women. But I couldn't care less. "I...I can't believe it..." I managed to croak out, with tears now streaming down my cheeks as Fafnir stared on in mute wonder. "You have a **[** **censored]**...You're...You're a guy..."

A few moments later, I stood up, a determined gleam in my eye. My gaze turned towards Fafnir, seeing him...shiver for a bit? Bah, details. "I have decided. The two of us shall go to the Man Ca– I mean, the Forge right this instant. I shall introduce you to the other members of the household that has testosterone running through their veins! Come, Fafnir, I shall show you the glory of men!"

"Right."

With a snap of my fingers, the two of us shifted towards the inside of the Forge, wherein we could have some solace against the overpowering female presence. The moment that the both of us appeared inside however, we saw a disturbing sight. More disturbing than Frea's genuine smile, more disturbing than Alaya's jokes. Indeed, it was Shirou, who was hugging a new blade a _little_ _bit too close_ for comfort. And so, Fafnir and I stared. We stared as Shirou cooed at the new blade, calling it names that few mortals could ever understand. We stared as Shirou gyrated his hips along the hilt of the blade, all the while proclaiming that he would eschew the pleasures of the mortal flesh as long as he was within fifteen feet of the blade. We stared as Shirou finally noticed our presence, his half-smile freezing in place while mid-thrust, and amber eyes locked onto our forms.

And slowly, painfully, trying to erase the past few moments out of my mind, I ushered Fafnir out of the forge.

/-/

"Let me get this straight", I said, massaging my temples as I gulped down freshly-brewed tea. The pain worked to ease the migraine that was about to form, as well as make me focus on something else rather than Shirou just humping his blade- and we're stopping there. Thank you very much. "You met Fafnir-" not-Emo-Jeanne's glare made me wince, "-I mean Sieg, during a Heaven's Feel ritual between two factions, am I right?" The not-Emo-Jeanne (I'm just going to call her Jeanne for convenience's sake) nodded, and I took another gulp of the piping hot tea. "And he was a homunculus that got draped into the ritual, so you pledged to protect him." Another nod, another gulp. "And along the way, you fell in love with him."

"Yes."

"Is this true?" I turned towards Fafnir, who thought for a few seconds before nodding at me. My eyes narrowed, suspicion marring my trust in the dragon-turned-male. "Are you _sure_ that it's true? You're not under the mental influence of Emo-Jeanne over there, are you?" I ignored the 'Hey!' that naturally came out of Emo-Jeanne's mouth, so I focused on Fafnir's reply.

 _"Yes",_ he replied in Draconic, _"I felt an artificial soul merge with me some time in the past, and I experienced the homunculus' memories as if it were my own."_ The dragon-turned-male flushed at some sort of memory, and Jeanne flushed right after. I stared at the two of them blankly, a twitch in my eye, yet I can't help but feel proud of that homunculus. Truly, his legend must be renowned throughout the whole Throne of Heroes, for his deeds were known far and wide due to the Heroic Spirits themselves. _"Bree...I can't help but get the feeling that you had just insulted me."_

"Surely you're just imagining that", I dismissed his thoughts with a wave of my hand, "Anyway, I guess it explains the reason as to why you're so attached to Emo-Jeanne in the first place..." I hummed and closed my eye. Indeed, everything makes sense now that I think about it. "So?" I said, opening my eye to stare at Fafnir, "What are you going to do? This is technically _your_ fault that this happened. You were supposed to meet up somewhere close to Avalon, right? By the lake."

 _"Uh..."_

"And you can't even remember..." I said, holding an arm over my eye as I let out an exasperated sigh. "You know what? I give up." I stood up from the couch, waving a gesture towards Frea. The Elf raised an eyebrow at me, before releasing an annoyed huff, turning towards the feuding trio who just _can't_ seem to shut up about their love problems.

Not that I was jealous or anything.

Not that Frea wasn't willing to go back to a relationship.

Not that.


	19. On Musings, Smiles, and Selfishness

The skies of the Reverse Side of the World is a constant swirl of activity. Colors shimmer beneath the surface, roiling about in erratic waves, and the motion is so hypnotizing that one could just stop and stare all day. But the one thing that I hate the most about it is that the sky is unchanging - it always shimmers, always swirls. You always expect the same thing to happen, even though it is random, so it is by no surprise that I found staring at the sky a way for my mind to blank out. Time flies by while I'm in that state, and so it would mean that my mind turns into literal brain-dead mush until whatever alarm that I had set comes. It's one of the main reasons why I like being on the Other Side of the World. There exists a concept of change tempered by chaos, and thus is the most wonderful place to see the skies of.

It's too bad that I won't be able to see it again for the time being. There are only a few moments wherein I'm allowed out of this gilded prison, after all.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A voice piped up from somewhere beside me, and I turned around to take a look. It was Frea, who had curled herself up into a ball and was staring at the horizon, her silver eyes half-lidded in thought. She turned towards me with a thin smile on her face, and I was reminded of the past- of what we were before Uruk fell. "Shirou's training is going well, Fafnir's currently entertaining the two Jeannes, and you still don't want to show yourself before Gaia or Alaya - with good reason. So since I finished my paperwork early, I thought I'd come by and distract you from just staring at the sky."

"...Nothing much, then", I replied after a moment of thought, turning my gaze back towards the spectrum of colors that made up the skyline. "I just sit out here when I've got nothing to do. Just let my mind wander around until something interesting comes up." My lips pursed, the sound of grass rustling making up for the silence between the two of us. It was a soothing sound, letting the gears in my mind turn without a chance of rusting. My mind searched for topics to talk to, branching out through every single possible simulation, yet I found none that suited the current situation. It was at these types of situations that I found that being entitled to the title of the First Magician didn't make things better.

In fact, I think that this...power of mine, is nothing more than just a burden.

Different worlds. Different timelines. Different realities. Different universes. Clones flow from the unconscious to the forefront of my mind, and I experience every single memory that they were able to encounter. Of the 'unkillable' Aristoteles ORT, of fighting the resurrected Crimson Moon, of going through Singularities with a lot of other Heroic Spirits on a grand adventure to save humankind...all in all, information floods me in my sleep, and I am awake through it all. Experiencing the pain that they bear, the hopelessness that they feel, of the disdain that they have for humanity and all of its creations...Yet somehow, I manage to hold on, to keep my 'self' intact in spite of the infinite amount of information flowing through my head. There are locks inside my head, letting me know that the memories that 'I' have are not 'real' unless they satisfy all locks, just like what Alaya does with her quantum time locks.

One of those locks is her. Frea. The Elf that managed to ensnare a being so removed from the Root, and kept him grounded in reality. One of the reasons why the First Magician could be negotiated with, and could therefore be outmaneuvered or threatened. His greatest weakness...and yet, my greatest strength.

"Thank you", I spoke up, causing her to let out a sound of surprise. I turned towards her, a smile on my face. Not a smirk that showed how amused I am at a current situation. Not a dry smile that I brought out for sarcasm. Not a blank one that showed how much I cared (not) about a certain event. No...this one was small. Light. Brittle. It carried the risk of exposing my inner thoughts to the World, which was the main reason why I kept it hidden away under lock and key. A smile that carried the risk of being seen as anything more than what I had built myself up to be. But if it was her, then I wouldn't mind. "Seriously...Thanks."

She blinked. After a second or two, she blinked again. The smile hadn't gone from my face, and so she simply stared at me in slight wonder. Silver eyes gleamed with an emotion that I can't place, before her lips quirked up into a smile. "I don't know what you're thanking me for, but if you're going to be this genuine about it, then..." She trailed off, staring back towards the horizon while I took a glance at her. My comrade was twirling a lock of her braided hair, her cheeks flushed a pale red, and my genuine smile turned into a faint smirk. "...Well, it must be pretty important."

I closed my eyes, the smirk once again fading into a smile, "Indeed. It _is_ pretty important." The context wasn't known to her, but the words hit close to home. No matter how many spatial ruptures she fires at me whenever I do something wrong; no matter how much she likes to grind her hand through my head for doing something ridiculous; no matter how angry she gets due to my relatively carefree attitude towards work...It's all of these traits that help me stay sane through every day that I spend inside the Reverse Side of the World. It was due to her traits, her manner, and her characteristics that I am able to awake as the existence known as 'Bree', and not someone else like 'Odin'.

"So", I said, once again breaking the silence that settled in between us like a blanket. My smile was once again brittle, though it held a lot more innocence in its tone, "...Do you think we can go back to the way it was before?"

Frea hummed. It was a soothing melody- one that helped me sleep from the nightmares of the past whenever she sang against the backdrop of the moon. A few moments later, she turned back towards me with a thin smirk on her face, before resting her head on my shoulder.

"Maybe. But...I do think we're going to need some time."

I released a sigh that I never knew was there, leaning my head towards the direction of the warmth. For all of my years as a Magician, for all of my years ever since I ran away...there was nothing more wonderful than trying to keep this warmth. Maybe it was the reason why I haven't developed a Reality Marble yet - after all, what I genuinely wish for inside was inherently selfish. A trademark of humanity that would never go away despite the ravages of time.

And I found that I wouldn't trade it for anything else.


	20. On Weirdness, Questions, and Dependence

I knew that something was up when Sensei entered the house with Frea-san on his heels. Even though my Origin had been changed, it did not diminish the way that I sensed Mysteries. As of the moment, the two of them were drenched in it, as if they were frolicking around the knolls surrounding the shack without a care in the world. I mean, it would _totally_ be Sensei's style to do it, but for Frea-san...? Yeah. I couldn't equate 'frolicking about the grass' with 'stern Elf'.

Obviously, something happened. That much I knew after I made the faux-pas of mentioning Emo-Jeanne's (ugh, now I'm picking up Sensei's naming sense) weight when she was eating too much of the food, and Sensei had to pound the lesson of 'social cues' and 'propriety' in my mind. Look how much Sensei has affected my way of thinking. I'm slowly becoming more sarcastic as time goes on. Or could it be a side-effect of learning the True Magics, as a way to cope with the forbidden knowledge...?

Ugh, where was I? Right, Sensei acting weird. I mean, Sensei _always_ acts weird all the time, so I know that he's acting weird when he's _not_ acting weird. Do you even get what I'm saying? It's like always expecting a puppy to be hyper, and you leave it alone for a little bit and you see that it's just poking at a ball with a dead expression on its face. Kind of like that example, but instead replace puppy with Sensei and replace the act of poking at a ball with actually respecting social norms. I mean, it's technically the Reverse Side of the World so social norms _normally_ wouldn't apply here, but you get the point.

By this point, _everyone_ knows that something happened between Sensei and Frea-san. I mean, Sensei was the only person that Frea-san would actually get mad at, and Frea-san was the only person that Sensei would actually listen to, or at least had some modicum of trust in. It was as if they've known each other for a long time...and then something happened to make them separate from one another. There was always that awkward feeling around them, but now...there's none. I could already feel a smirk forming on my face at the thought of asking Sensei about their relationship.

...Gods, I hate it when I become more like Sensei with every passing day.

/-/

"We met up once before, in Babylon. First actual settlement of mankind", he replied in a monotone voice, and I can't help but twitch my eyes at that. Where were the juicy bits? Where was the stammering? Considering the mood that they were in earlier during dinner, I can assume that there's some kind of unresolved sexual tension between you two, and I wish to see that evidence, damn it! "...Now that's weird. You don't usually ask these sorts of questions." Urk. Now Sensei's humming. Sensei only hums when there's something to be suspicious about, or he wants to tease someone. Seeing as there's no females around here (considering it was the Forge and all), it's almost certain that it's about the former.

"Shirou", there goes the habit of calling me by my name. And Sensei, please lose that smile. You're going to kill someone else just by smiling at them if you keep on doing that. "What's wrong?"

I don't know. Maybe the fact that you can see through me so easily. Or maybe the fact that you look so menacing even without the dragon's eye underneath your eyepatch. Or maybe the fact that you use my 'training' as a pretense to torture me as harshly as possible. Or maybe it was because of all of these factors that I snapped and tried to find a way to release my urges by...Oh. Oh no. Sensei saw me while I was doing _that_. Please don't tell me he recorded it.

He smirked. Damn it. "...What's your relationship with Frea-san, Sensei?" I asked, my tone serious yet containing the hints of 'please don't spread that video of me humping a blade'. Sensei hummed once again, this time stroking his chin which had a nonexistent beard, and I fought the urge to just crawl up into a ball and try to purge the memory out of my mind. Sure, it was a good idea, but I need to remember that while I was doing so, Sensei was running amok with a copy of me humping a blade.

...Sorry Heires, but it looks like you can only be drawn while in my room...

Sensei shuddered for a second there, and I immediately froze up as well, thinking that Frea-san somehow got into the room while I was thinking. After a few seconds however, I relaxed, seeing as Sensei was looking a bit better, so I assumed the danger to be past as well.

(Little did Shirou know that _he_ was the danger that he was referring to.)

"Well..." he said, staring to the side while scratching the back of his head. My gaze narrowed instantly, trying to tell if his gesture was an actual reaction and not just some weird lie to get out of this situation. After a few seconds of staring, I can't seem to get a heads or tails of what it means. Ugh, damn Sensei and his damn illusions... "There were some _very complicated circumstances,_ you see, and I don't remember very much about the events back then, so I can't exactly recall what happened back then." Sensei blinked, and I was frozen to the spot as Sensei looked at me directly with his single amethyst eye, "Look Shirou, Frea and I...don't see eye-to-eye on many different issues, but there's a reason as to why we're still alive even after Uruk fell and humanity was scattered to the winds. We fought Phantasmal Beasts, harvested their materials, made new weapons out of them...an endless cycle that continued on until we could find another civilization."

Sensei sighed, and I was reminded of how old he _actually_ was, to be in his prime the moment that the Babylonian Empire fell. No doubt he had to be at _least_ two millennia old...but then again, Gaia and Alaya-nee told me that one of his identities was actually Odin the All-Father, so it meant that he was even older than that. Just how _old_ is Sensei supposed to be?

"Back during that time Shirou, Frea and I couldn't age. We only had each other for everything that we need, and so we learned to trust one another. Know each other's habits. Know what makes the other tick. Become a part of one another. If we didn't do that, then we would be dead." Sensei's voice grew solemn, and his fists curled up into a ball as he spoke, "During the fall of Uruk...we were separated. I thought she was dead. For a time, I didn't know what to do- just aimlessly drifting around various settlements, wanting to help but not knowing how. But when she appeared here, right in front of my shack...I didn't know what to do."

A bitter smile was plastered on Sensei's face, and I knew that he was talking about a sore topic, so I simply nodded and kept silent. To be honest, I didn't know what it felt to have a fundamental piece of myself suddenly whisked away by outside powers. And to be honest, the thought scared me.

If Sensei was still doing fine after all that, then how strong was he?


	21. On Harassment, Hiding, and Humor

"Frea", I called out, opening the door to the office with a stack of paperwork in my arms, "We've got a new shipment of work coming from the rest of the others, something concerning the Fey...again." I rolled my eyes at my own statement, yet I couldn't keep a snort in check. To be honest, I admired those little twats, even though they pulled pranks on practically everyone - including me. There was something about little guys taking on more powerful beings that resonated deep inside of me, and we share a fine sense in the art of annoying others.

With a soft nudge from my shoulder, I opened the door to the office, finding Frea in the middle of being sexually harrassed by Gaia. Hm, indeed- there's nothing wrong here. All I need to do is make sure that I won't be seen while the two other women do whatever it is they're doing, and I'm definitely not calling them out because I don't want the current scene to stop or anything. In fact, I could liken it to some kind of background noise, but only for more mature audiences. As if the squeaks and moans didn't tell you enough of that, already.

In any case, I achieved my objective relatively easily, and so I took a chair from the stack, sat on it, amd watched the peculiarly interesting scene (without making a sound, of course). It was only then when Frea's knees start to buckle inwards did she notice me, and quickly released a scream that also had the undertones of...You know what? Why am I even describing this in detail? In fact, now that _both_ Gaia and Frea were staring at me like a deer caught in the headlights, I should milk the scene for all it's worth!

And so, with my incredible prowess in the art of pissing people off, I raised a hand for my last words. "Carry on. Please don't mind me; it was just getting to the good part, after all."

Let it be known that it was with great relish that I was thrown out the window by the anthropomorphic representatin of nature. Not that I was implying that I was a masochist of course, but because my plan to piss them off had gone perfectly. Of course, there was a good chance that I had to start running for my life and the two just gave me a _very_ generous headstart, but I'd like to take my chances and stare at my surroundings.

Fafnir was currently enjoying his time with the Arc twins, frolicking about the lake. Currently, he was in his dragon form the size of a housecat, and was currently being pampered by Jeanne while Emo-Jeanne was currently chasing them with blasts of fire. Pretty normal. I could see what Shirou's doing from one of the shack's windows, but...I'd rather not go when I'm still trying to reoress those memories. Alaya was currently lounging by the shore, idly watcng the crystal clear lake with impassive blue eyes, and I immediately decided to run towards her the moment I heard Death call my name.

I shifted beside her, and quickly held up a hand to stop her from speaking. "I need to hide from Gaia for the moment", I said, starting off with the cold facts, "I was delivering some paperwork to the office, but Gaia was sexually harrassing Frea. I decided to ignore what was going on and accomplish my work, but they noticed my presence. Ergo, as of the moment, they are trying to kill me. Which is why I need your help in order to hide from Gaia."

Alaya stared at me with unblinking blue eyes, before a flash of emotion glimmered across their surface. Mostly pity. Really, like 95% pity and 5% incredulity. "Akasha never gives you a break, doesn't she?" She asked, and closed her eyes. A second later, a stuffed toy was conjured in between her hands, and she placed it beside her, a finger pointing towards it. "Hide there. Gaia would not bother looking for you in what is so clearly my creation."

"You want me to possess the stuffed toy." I deadpanned, and stared at Alaya with a dry look. A few seconds pass, and Alaya tilted her head in confusion, so I had to clarify things for her. "The stuffed toy that you made." Her brows furrowed, and I let out an exasperated sigh. A quick Analysis of the stuffed toy later, and I found myself staring at a soul container. One that effectively trapped the soul inside until the user deems it so. It was basically the djinn's lamp, but modernized.

'Coincidentally', the stuffed toy was designed in the likeness of Counter Guardian EMIYA. In fact, it should've been the first clue of the stuffed toy's true nature. Damn Alaya and her penchant for drawing in poor schmucks. If I didn't know any better, I'd liken her to Satan himself...

...Oh god. Faust is a Counter Guardian. That is one thing that I do not need to know.

"Time is running out, Magician", Alaya said, a thin smile on her face. Alright, that's it. Sadists, the lot of them. I knew that the saying 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' was an actual truth. You know what? Screw it. I tapped my left temple, revealing Mimir's eye to the Reverse Side of the World, and quickly snipped some concepts that would result in a very bad headache to get out of. I stopped for an instant, adding a few more concepts before jumping in, just in time to see Frea round the corner with murder written on her steel gaze.

"WHERE IS HE?!" The Elf screamed, turning towards Alaya. The latter simply gave the former a blank look, and stared until Frea grew uncomfortable enough to snap out of her temper and visibly glance away from the blue-haired woman. "Uh... right. Sorry to intrude on your rest here, but uh...You know what? Nevermind. I'll just talk to him later."

Walking backwards in slow, measured steps, Frea kept her pace even until she turned the corner, where she immediately bolted to who-knows-where. I managed to hold back a snort, while Alaya quirked her lips upward into a smile.

Then the realization hit, and I paled. I was the one responsible for Alaya's sense of humor. It meant that it was actually me who fucked EMIYA over.

...Well, at least the thought counts, right?

/-/

Inside the unyielding iron sands of Unlimited Blade Works, EMIYA perked up, an intrusion registering in his world. His head turned towards the intrusion, seeing a small doll in the likeness of himself, standing proud amidst the battleground of unlimited blades.

Just as he was about to reach for it though, the doll suddenly spoke.

"Hey, kid. What do you say about a wish."


	22. On Leave, Boyfriends, and Genji

It's hard, finding a day to just relax from all of the crazy shenanigans that the household goes up to. So from time to time, I escape to the Surface World, associating myself with individuals that catch my fancy. It wasn't as if I wanted to brush up my skills in pissing people off. No, siree. I was just...taking opinions from people with different perspectives like madmen and the like. Like the current one, for example. "Hey, give Shiki back, you shady one-eyed man!"

"You _do_ know that he's going to **[censored]** you right?" I deadpanned, carrying the unconscious boy over my shoulder in a fireman's carry. It was weird from an outsider's perspective, seeing an ordinary high school student being knocked unconscious and being carried by a plushie, but at least the blonde in front of me knew more about my nature.

"I don't care! Give him back!"

...Or, she could just be an ordinary teenager that just wants her toy back. This sucks. Why does dealing with True Ancestor no different from dealing with children? Altrouge was incensed when her 'pet' whimpered when she commanded to attack, and even then Primate Murder was dispatched with a quick scratch at the back of the ear. Are _all_ of them bratty half-pints? "Look, Arcuied", I said in a tired voice, ignoring the narrowed eyes of the True Ancestor in front of me, "I made a deal with your Gramps to make sure that I brought back your first suitor so he could prove himself to him."

"Really?" She asked, and the second of distraction proved to be more than enough as the two of us shifted towards a particularly large room in the Clocktower. Crystals flitted in and out of existence, with the dimensions of the room warping like jelly, and I felt the True Ancestor beside me stiffen, feeling the utter alienness of this place.

For me, however? This was just like my home. "Schweinworg, we have a problem! Someone just got in your workshop and– oh."

"Hello Ruby", I said, waving a hand at the Kaleidostick that was currently having a spasmic fit. "Remember what I told the Old Man when I came here last time? I'm here to get that."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"RUBY, WHY HAVEN'T YOU DESTROYED THAT INTRUDER– oh." I nodded at the old man that just popped in from a portal, his red eyes bugging out as he saw me. Indeed Old Man, 'oh'. The devil comes for his payment, and there is no escape! "...Really?" He asked, and I nodded. With a sigh, Zelretch popped open a portal, a pendant dropping from the ethereal shimmer in realirt as I quickly caught it with my hand.

The sapphire inlaid as its centerpiece glowed when it touched my skin, and I sighed in relief as infinite memories from infinite timelines entered my mind. A second later, my eye slammed open, a gasp escaping my lips as a wide smile formed on my face. Infinite prana at one's fingertips...was this what Zelretch felt like when he used one of these things? "Alright", I said, stumbling for a step as my Magic Cores adjusted to the incoming amount of prana, "I think I got it. Thanks for repairing this for me, Old Man." My gaze turned towards the True Ancestor, "Also, I'm hoping that your boyfriend survives the whole ordeal."

"Boyfriend?" Zelretch said, staring at the high-schooler's unconscious body. A quick Analysis told me of his name– Nanaya Shiki, now goes with the last name Tohno. I glance back towards the Old Man, seeing the malicious glint in his eyes, and Arcuied seemed to see it too.

"Boyfriend..." She moaned, her blood-red eyes immediately going for the kill and pleading at her foster grandfather. When it didn't work, she puffed up her cheeks and huffed, turning her head to the side. Textbook tsundere move, and one that almost worked on Zelretch if she was a little bit more genuine.

"Boyfriend?" Shiki spoke up, only to freeze as the three of us stared at him. He was frozen, his mouth gaping open at the sight of us, and he would've continued if it were not for the sudden entrance of a redheaded woman, who had just casually destroyed a wall with the arrays floating behind her.

I sighed, just as the rest of the information about Nanaya Shiki entered my brain. So he was part of the Blue's experiment at imitating Hikaru Genji.

...Great. Three Magicians in one room. Alaya and Gaia are going to _kill_ me if I go back.

/-/

"I call bullshit."

"That's because you haven't been paying attention to the news lately. Sucks to _not_ have the ability to access alternate timelines." I jabbed at the brunette, and Aozaki Aoko looked almost ready to tear my throat out. Physically, of course. Damn. I meant in a non-sexual manner. "Also, you're a Magician. Expect these things to pop up from time to time."

"How do you deal with him?"

"I don't", came Zelretch's reply to the Blue, "He's just like me, but worse. Imagine Merlin cranked up at seeing a female version of himself. _That_ much worse." I groaned at the comparison. It was true, but it brought back memories of me reaching the top of the tower and seeing him get it on with another version of himself. I should've known that he was planning to do that when he asked for a puppet body. Ugh, I can't get the image out of my mind.

"...So, does that have something to do with him being stuck in the plushie of a Counter Guardian?"

"Nah, this is just an experiment."

"Owe you a favor if you demolish the Grail here–"

"No."

"You drive a hard bargain here, sir."

"If I'm not pissing anyone off, then what's the point in living?"

"True words had never been spoken.",


	23. On Summoning, Accidents, and Temper

What was I even doing here? Why was I being dragged into this mess unwillingly? Right– because Zelretch is an ass and I got suckered into a Geass as recompense for almost killing the Blue's boytoy.

So here I am, in 1996, about to summon someone from the Throne of Heroes. The Fourth Heaven's Feel, if I think about it. My hand stood at the edge of the summoning circle, a drop of blood serving as my catalyst to summon the Servant, and Command Seals engraved unto my arm were shaped into a dragon's head. Quite good taste from Zelretch, if you ask me, but he's still a twat.

In any case, time to summon a Servant.

I flick my finger, the blood dropping onto the center of the circle as I flooded prana into it. The pendant on my chest glowed, its sapphire centerpiece blazing in the relatively dark room, and a blast of golden radiance coming out from the circle was enough to make me stagger back. After a few seconds later, I slowly opened my eyes, finding...nothing. Absolutely nothing. Did I botch up the summoning somehow? I mean, I already knew how the summoning process worked, so there wasn't really any chance for me to fuck things up already. Unless...

A quick analysis later, and I sighed dejectedly, slumping forward at the fact that the Servant that I had summoned - which was supposed to be from the Throne of Heroes - was actually another version of myself. I mean, the drop of blood _was_ a good indicator that things might've gone that way, but...Damn it. This complicates things. It also helps me let off some steam for not being able to punch Zelretch in the face right now, but beating up Heroic Spirits would do for now.

But why am I a Caster-class, though?

/-/

The docks were a good place to fight. No bystanders, no chance of someone else coming into the damn port, _and_ there was a Bounded Field in place to keep the muggles out of the way. Overall, a good place to fight indeed. If it weren't for the fact that the enemy chose this location, and so they must've had some sort of trap. In response to this, I sent a quick Analysis that spanned the entire docks, finding _quite_ a few busybodies trying to assassinate someone else on a warehouse's rooftop. Also, another Servant was on the crane, watching us. Judging by the mask and the not-so-intimidating presence, it wasn't the _other_ Old Man.

Seeing as I was on leave, I spent the last two days just mingling about the city, trying to commit the entire area to memory. It was broken by food binges paid with real (seriously) money, and I always left from such restaurants with a belly full, and profit sales rising. The time just seemed to go by too fast...and now I'm stuck here, facing another guy in a _bodysuit_.

"Alright, let's figure your name out", I said, materializing a few meters back in front of the Servant. My eyes trailed towards the twin spears that the man held, the spot on his face, and the fact that he was - and I _do_ reiterate - wearing a _bodysuit,_ of all things. "Irish hero with twin spears, so you're most likely Diarmuid." The Lancer's brows widened, and I simply scoffed at him by waving a hand at him. "It's quite simple, really; since you're wearing a bodysuit, it must mean that you _are_ Irish, and being summoned under the Lancer class with two spears to boot isn't going to help you with others figuring out your identity."

Lancer stared at me with his jaw hung open, and I crossed my arms and nodded with a smirk. "Indeed, praise be my deductive prowess."

The glint of sharp steel was quickly deflected by Lancer, who stared at me with a mixture of surprise and disgust, a spear having blocked the dagger aimed for his heart. "You despicable fiend!" He roared, immediately coming into a stance with both spears pointed towards me, their wrappings coming undone to reveal the cursed weapons. "To attack like an Assassin...have you no shame, Servant!?"

"Well how do you think I was going to kill you? I'm just a Caster-class Servant, after all" I said, raising an eyebrow at the Lancer, who just frowned even further, "I _do_ think that trickery and subterfuge is my most honed skill." My vision shifted, and I found myself on one knee, crystalline knife in my right hand and already halfway through to stabbing Lancer in the liver. "Of course...that's only after taking into account my fighting prowess."

Lancer blocked the quick thrust with a swipe of his shorter spear's staff, knocking the blade off-course. With a mental command, I extended the blade's shaft, making sure that it was behind the Heroic Spirit before shifting my position, with Gugnir already poised to strike. Diarmuid dodged by a hair's breadth, and immediately thrusted the red spear towards my neck. I can't move while in mid-air, of course...unless I can, so I quickly tapped the air above me as I forced myself to slam down. Gugnir transmuted back into a dagger, and I rolled forward as soon as I hit the ground, scoring a hit on Lancer's inner thigh before parring a thrust from the golden spear. Let's see here...Gae Buidhe and Gae Dearg...powerful tools when used in the right hands, but as of now?

A bit too stale for my tastes.

"Come back when you don't bang up every woman you meet, Diarmuid", I said with a yawn, sheathing Gugnir back in its holster and shoving my hands into my pockets, watching the Lancer train erupt and charged at me with two Noble Phantasms blazing in the night. Sufficiently pissed off, I watched in glee as his triumphant expression turned to surprise when 'I' suddenly winked out of existence, leaving the man in the bodysuit looking like an idiot. "Also, improve your skill with the spear, would you? It would be a shame if you can't even get a scratch on me after _this_ long."

I smirked in glee as Lancer charged at me again with weapons raised. Phase one done; now the next step is to humiliate him.


	24. On Dangers, Intruders, and Rage

Emiya Kiritsugu was usually a man who detached his emotions from work. Whenever he was on the job, he was like a machine - there was no variable left to chance, no avenue that the enemy could exploit. He was a clinical assassin - a surgeon that specialized in killing, and so when a wrench had been thrown into his plans, there were naturally back-ups that he immediately fell onto. After taking a look at the Servant currently fighting Lancer (a _Caster_ , out of all things), he immediately drew a blank.

Innate space-time manipulation. A morphing weapon that serves as a catalyst for his manipulation of space. Fighting skills that could make even Saber hang her head in shame. Various amounts of clones that could be manipulated at will.

 _Just what the hell is this Servant?_

Like any Master with a functioning brain, Kiritsugu immediately sets his sight on the Caster-class Servant that was easily stomping through Lancer's defense, and was immediately surprised when all of its parameters were labeled as blank. He rubbed his eyes once again just to make sure that it wasn't a fluke, but the blank parameters remained. The grip on his WA2000 tighted, his breath hitching at the thought of having an _unknown variable_ being thrown in at the beginning of his plans, yet he managed to calm himself down by taking a deep breath and rethink.

As if the world hated him however, lightning struck down from the sky, followed by a chariot that forced both Caster and Lancer to separate from one another. Both combatants stared at the incomer with varying expressions- Caster with the same infuriating smirk, and Lancer with a barely-concealed hatred for the intruder to their 'duel'. _Chivalry is for fools; codes of conduct and honor simply glorify meaningless sacrifices of life._

"Hearken, all of those who hear me, for you are in the presence of a King!" The man on the chariot said, spreading his arms outwards in a show of peace, "My name is Alexander the Great, summoned under the Rider class, and I would like to recruit both of you into my army!" Kiritsugu blinked, before steadying his thoughts and staring at the scene through his scope. It would seem that Rider had just willingly mentioned his name towards all current participants. _What was his motive for doing so? Learning one's True Name is usually grounds for another Servant to know the other's legend...Of course. Knowing that they were fighting the greatest tactician to ever grace the earth wouldn't necessarily make the next battles easier._

Kiritsugu approved of Rider's choice of revealing his name, even though he planned to exploit it for all that it was worth. "As for the other Servants hiding in the shadows, there is no need for you to stay hidden! For all of you are under the King's light!" _Nevermind_. Kiritsugu's mindset immediately reevaluated Rider's capability as an enemy tactician. _If he is still constrained by his pride, then it would mean that he wouldn't cross lines. It makes him predictable in his actions._

Of course, Saber wouldn't stand for the perceived insult, and the assassin could only sigh as his Servant took to the battlefield, disregarding Irisveil's safety. He would have words with her after this debacle, but for the moment...He assigned Maiya to watch over his wife. With King Arthur now on the battlefield, Alexander couldn't help but take a jab at her gender, which resulted to the rising tension. Lancer tensed in preparation, his twin spears hanging loosely by his side, yet Caster simply didn't move from his current position, and simply watched the ongoing train wreck with an amused expression on his face. Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes at his totally carefree disposition, his evaluation of Caster's threat level currently rising by the minute.

Then from atop a streetlight, another Servant appeared, this time decked in gold armor that thrummed with power, proclaiming his dominion above all the other Servants currently in the war. Most of the other Heroic Spirits gathered in the docks looked at the newcomer with hints of caution and fear, while Caster...

Kiritsugu decided from then on, that eliminating Caster from the War was the first thing to be done. The amount of pure _bloodlust_ that he showed when he laid eyes upon that Golden Servant was enough to make everyone freeze, and the words that he said contained so much malice that the air around him stilled. All of these effects were the virtue of him only uttering a single word.

 _"Gilgamesh."_

/-/

Make no mistake. Zelretch was an asshole. Not Merlin-level asshole, but just a few steps close to officially becoming one of his apprentice. Yet, _sometimes_ he could do such charitable things by complete accident. Like chucking me into a universe wherein Gilgamesh was summoned as a Servant.

...I'll ask Shirou to make a new and improved Gem Sword later. For now, however, there was much rejoicing. After all... _The King is finally here._

"Ho? So one of you mongrels recognizes the full splendor of my name?" I snorted, making his left eye twitch. The rest of the other Servants had just gotten the legend downloaded from their heads, and they began to fully realize what they were facing up against. "Those eyes...even though you know the full weight of my legend, you stare at me like a rabid dog." The _King_ sneered, waving his arm as portals opened up behind him, their weapons all aimed at me. Gereid, Keros, Ilma, Sentras...memories flashed through my mind, telling me of the toiling work that I once did in order to bring these blades into perfection. Of how the _King_ gathered them all and allowed them to rust, stifling their potential when they could be used in a manner befitting of their names. It made my blood boil, seeing these works of art being forcibly turned against their maker.

It made me _want to see the King's face stare at me in horror, in realization of what he had done._ "Now die in a manner befitting of your death, dog."

Swords flashed at a speed higher than what the eye could perceive, rending through magical protections and piercing through flesh. Gilgamesh _howled in pain,_ the various precursors of Noble Phantasms skewering him by his joints, rendering him unable to move as he fell towards the ground. The rest of the weapons inside the portals coalesced behind my back, waiting for my orders and arranging themselves into the form of wings, and an amethyst eye stared at ruby orbs. "Oh no, _my King._ Your weapons have turned against you", a smile formed on my face, more wicked than I had ever let loose before, and with it came the hate that I had locked within me from millennia past.

"Of course, it was only to be expected, seeing as these weapons were forged by my guiding hand", I said, raising my arm towards the various weapons, their steel glinting amidst their consciousness, "You were not a 'wielder', nor were you the 'creator'. You were simply the 'owner', taking these weapons by force and supplanting your will onto them like a King does with their subjects." I snarled, and another wave of killing intent emanated from my own person, forcing the other Heroic Spirits to stay back. "But you, _Gilgamesh_. You are not the King of these weapons. You will never understand them as much as their wielders or their makers. You were supposed to be the King of Uruk, yet what became of that?" I spat these words, watching the bastard's reaction, seeing him stare at me with blank eyes. Eyes that regarded me as nothing more than a worm.

"Humbaba invaded, thinking Uruk as nothing more than another human settlement to be stomped by Gaia's beasts. Ishtar invaded with the Bull of Heaven, and tore the foundation of the city apart so that there was nothing left." I took a step towards him, and the Gate of Babylon once again opened, sending swords flying straight towards me. My arm pulsed forward, stopping all the blades in mid-air, before they turned towards the _King_ and made sure that he wouldn't be able to move a muscle. A few short seconds, and I finally reached the man, my amethyst eye flaring up in cold victory.

"And you _dare_ call me mongrel, when it is _you_ who has done nothing to achieve the prosperity of Uruk." I stepped upon Gilgamesh's chest, smirking as the armor bent inwards like paper, "...Any words to say in your defense, _my King_?"

Silence reigned in the air for a few seconds before Gilgamesh roared in laughter. Mirth filled his blood-red eyes, tinged with rage and anger at the person who had caused his current predicament. "Ah, at last, I remember you now...blacksmith. Tell me, how much were you left with when that goddess killed that whore of an elf?"

Burning hot _RAGE COURSED THROUGH MY VEINS, AND THE PRESSURE OF MY FOOT ON GILGAMESH INCREASED-_

"Caster." I froze, my thoughts grinding to a halt as an amethyst eye glanced towards Alexander the Great, whose eyes were observing me with a calculating glint. A quick Analysis showed me his legend, his path of conquest towards lands that never existed, and the fact that he had done so was enough to calm me down from my...funk. My gaze turned towards where I had turned **_that bastard_** into a pincushion, but he was no longer there. Most likely called back by a Command Seal. How an undignified way to exit battle. "How about you join my army for the time being?"

A gear clicked into place, and through it all, I managed to bring out a faint smirk. "Sure."


	25. On Dreams, Death, and Curiosity

Dream cycles are a quirk of the Heaven's Feel ritual. Experiencing the life of the Servant from their memories would most likely prove as a humbling experience, painting them as sympathetic people who are your comrades in search of the Grail and not as some mindless summons that obey to one's will. For someone of a special case like me however, who had summoned himself...It just reminded me of my mistakes.

 _Ishtar stood there, crowning over her victory with a red gaze that looked down upon all of creation. To her, Uruk was nothing more than the property of the one who had scorned her - a thing to be destroyed, regardless of other's opinions. She, who looked down on humans - mortals - as nothing more than ticks beneath her feet, was staring at me with a sadistic glint that told me of her intentions._

 _My grip on Frea wavered, and her hands clutched tighter about my waist. Her breaths were shallow now - a result of blood flowing into her punctured lung, and her death was already a given at this point. There was nothing I could do in order to bring back the dead to life. Of course, unless I traded my soul for hers in Irkalla._

 _"This is your fault, Enki", she said, a divine voice made out of pure Authority, "It was your suggestion that led to her death. You were the one who suggested creating these persistent bugs known as humans, and thus it led to the creation of Gilgamesh. His faults lie within yours, and so you must pay for it as well with death." Her weapon formed in motes of iridescent light, the boat of Manna appearing in her hands with an arrow fully-drawn. "Now, accept your failure with dignity, for associating with these bugs had tarnished your divine spark."_

 _" **Yo** u ki **ll** ed h **e** r."_

 _"Like I have told you before, if you never stood in my way, then she never would've died protecting her 'home'." She sneered at me, and the arrow shifted, with golden cracks now littering its surface. "What a foolish girl. Defending a King that didn't deserve the right to be one. What was the point of giving her life to an insignificant plot of land in the first place? Didn't she know that we could restart this experiment any time we wished?"_

And so I watched, as my old self broke into pieces at seeing Frea's death. I watched as my old self laid her on the ground and tapped his foot, causing the earth to shift and move over in order to protect her corpse. I stared into the eyes of my own self, now devoid of meaning and purpose, yet still left with one singular task - to avenge the one that he had loved. Now that I think about it, I was more powerful back then. A man with no meaning and purpose were just as dangerous as Gaia's wrath, and it showed.

 _"Se **ra** phi **m** s, s **e** t."_

 _"Hm? Still raving on about your pathetic last stand? Why don't you just lay and die like the **dog** you are?"_

 _"Pa **tt** er **n** f **orm** at **i** on, de **lta**."_

 _Rifts in reality formed from all around Ishtar, who simply raised an eyebrow and sneered at the rifts surrounding her. She released her arrow, a golden trail of light following the wake of a burst of Authority that shattered the palace around them. I held out a hand, the innumerable macros in my mind acting in sync as the rifts in reality materialized, stopping the golden burst of light right in its tracks and transferring it back towards Ishtar. Inhuman eyes widened at the action, and her head moved swiftly to the side, narrowly dodging the beam in the process._

 _"I petitioned for humanity to be created in order to uphold the balance. Gods like you have wreaked havoc onto this world too many times to count", my voice boomed, in a manner that was akin to an Authority, but also not. I didn't know where this sudden change had come from, but I welcomed it- if only so it would make it easier for me to kill the **bitch** that killed my wife. "They could do what you could not. Die. Change. Hold multiple domains at the same time. Provides nutrition. Most of the gods saw the need for change- that they needed to strike a balance between their wants and the wants of the World. You however..." I trailed off, the rifts in reality slowly gathering strength as Gaia's Reality Marble began to break down around me, revealing a dead world beyond the veil. The world of Notes. "...You are nothing but a self-entitled brat. **No** w suf **fe** r. **"**_

 _Reality shattered around us, revealing the world where Gaia was dead and the Aristoteles awoken from their slumber. It was upon this dead world that I searched through the annals of Akasha, binding the weapons that I needed in order to kill this **i** n **su** lt t **o** r **eali** ty in front of me. A sleek black gun materialized in front of me, set in the design of intertwining branches. Its center orb glowed, shooting out a stream of iridescent light that stopped at the edge of the barrel. I grasped it with my right hand, feeling space warp as I took it, and I pointed it towards the **en** ti **tl** e **d** b **ra** t._

 _She tried to move, but couldn't. Black chains made of ash wrapped around her body, tying her to the dead ground. It was the chains that had bound me once from a future long time past, one that wrapped me around a mountain while a Divine Beast tore my insides apart. It was made to restrain beings of Divine descent, having the same ability as Enkidu. But these chains were from a different pantheon. She would_ never _know how to free herself from them._

 _And so having all the time in the world, I pulled the trigger. I watched as Ishtar's eyes widened at the sight of the abomination that I held. I watched as the miniature black hole collided with her, sucking her into its depths and imprinting the concept of 'destruction' to everything that made her Ishtar. From her being to her Authorities, nothing remained but a floating ball of darkness that was occasionally twinged with yellow._

 _I sighed, watching reality shatter in front of me once again as I was shifted back towards the falling palace, a tired smile on my face. The barrier containing Frea had cracked and shriveled, but she was already gone - returned to the Reverse Side of the World after her death. A part of me wanted to try and reach her, and another part tried to discourage me from doing so. I was already being hunted by the Beasts of Gaia and Alaya - why would I incur the wrath of the various Phantasmal Beasts inside?_

If only my past self knew.

 _Pain seized me, with my joints locking up immediately as I coughed up blood. Golden ichor mixed with red blood was spilled on the shifting grounds of the palace, and I fell into a crumpled heap, right where the spot that I had laid Frea in. All I could do was stare at the ceiling, the various structural damages occurred during Uruk's defense finally taking its toll as pieces of rubble began falling from their face. Just as another one fell onto my face, however..._

I woke up.

/-/

"You better not be leading our Waver into delinquency, son." The old lady warned me, her stern gaze reminding me of Frea. I glance towards my side, where Alexander the great was eating with gusto and was lively chatting with the old man that Waver hypnotized, and I couldn't help but smile at the scene. The beautiful, idyllic scene that I wanted to have after how many years of living...I close my eyes, with determination setting in my features as I met gazes with the old lady.

"I won't", I promise, setting my finished meal down as I nodded towards her in thanks of the meal. She smiled at me, probably guessing the honesty in my statement, and moved on to gather up the plates. I sighed, leaning back into my seat as I cursed inwardly at the fact that I have silver hair, and I was broken out of my reverie a few seconds later by a tap on the shoulder. "What?"

"What were you smiling about earlier?" Rider asked, raising a bushy red brow at me. I chuckle, shaking my head as I stared out the window, wondering how the rest were doing.

"Nothing."


	26. On What Happens When Bree's Gone

Back on Bree's shack located in the Reverse Side of the World, its inhabitants had a most unlikely visitor. "Talk", Shirou said, his voice as cold as his finished blades as he held a new and improved copy of the Gem Sword at Zelretch's neck. Unlike the original one which looked like someone jammed a handle into a malformed crystal, Shirou's version of the Gem Sword was actually shaped like a half-and-a-half sword, thus conducting a greater amount of prana due to its structure allowing the ambient prana to move efficiently. In truth, Zelretch was impressed by the boy's ability. Sure, he had seen what he can do in other timelines, but since this was a new one, it was only natural that he'd be fairly interested.

Maybe he had been slacking off on his own apprentice's training...

/-/

Somewhere, Tohsaka Rin felt a chill go up her spine. She couldn't help but blame Emiya-kun for this.

/-/

"Well, Bree managed to almost kill the living daylights out of the Blue's boytoy, so out of recompense, he participated in the Fourth Heaven's Feel ritual." Eyebrows were raised at the Kaleidoscope's statement, but everyone in the household already knew Bree's habits. It wasn't a stretch to think that he did so out of some kind of misplaced guilt. "So I brought with me a dimensional TV. Allows you to pick up on whatever's currently happening on that timeline that I sent him in."

"Alright", Shirou said, holding the door open while a hand kept a tight grip on the Improved Gem Sword, "Come on in. Might as well watch the ongoing chaos with the rest of us."

"NO TELEVISION ALLOWED INSIDE THE HOUSE!"

"Quit it, Gaia. We're just using it to watch Bree. At least it saves time if we leave it up to the Kaleidoscope."

"...You just want a TV here, don't you Alaya?"

"It is _extremely_ boring to just watch the skies every day. Or to amuse ourselves by watching Fafnir deal with the two Jeannes."

"Tch. Point there...But that old man better do nothing suspicious, or else it's his head we're decorating for Halloween."

Zelretch watched the two sides of the Counter Force bicker with a deadpan expression on his face. On one hand, they weren't planning to kill him- which was great, seeing as he would be endlessly chased to the ends of the earth if they weren't currently 'watching over the house', as they put it. On the other hand, he felt that his opinion of Gaia and Alaya had just been shattered just by entering this place. Which was weird for him, considering that _he_ was usually the one trolling people.

Truly, the First Magician was an enigma that was hard to crack. How he had managed to tame the Counter Force into taking a more neutral stance was quite a puzzling affair in of itself, but that wasn't he was currently here for. "So, about the TV..."

"Right. Please come in", another voice spoke up, coming from a hazel-haired woman with silver eyes. Zelretch hummed, applauding Bree for his good taste in women, and he was led towards the living room of the shack, where he placed his viewing crystal on the low table. Using his Kaleidoscope for such a mundane purpose was not what he was expecting any time soon, but then again, more information on the First Magician was a godsend.

Flipping the crystal remote in his hands like he was watching television, the various anchor points in infinite timelines fizzled in and out of existence as Zelretch did his work. After a few moments of waiting, his eyes brightened, finally having found the correct channel, and the remote that he held disappeared into a portal. "Well, found the correct one. Now let's watch", he said, watching with mild interest as the rest of the household crowded around the viewing screen, which simply spread outwards in order to accomodate.

The screen flickered to life, and it showed Bree currently walking alongside what appears to be a hulking redhead and a scrawny teen, his hands deep in his pockets. Other people gave them a wide berth- more specifically, gave Bree a wide didn't seem to mind however, since he was busy in making conversation towards the duo.

 _"Alright, now that no one's currently listening, I'll tell you my identity." He said, making the redhead blink, "I am the Heroic Spirit Enki, the god of creation and water. Nice to meet you, Alexander the Great."_

Everyone except for Frea, Gaia, and Alaya promptly spat out their drinks. Zelretch didn't know that tea was being served as of the moment. "I'm sorry, Sensei is _what_!?" Shirou exclaimed, his amber eyes staring at Bree in disbelief. Which in complete coincidence, was also the look that he received from both Alexander the Great and the scrawny brat. Zelretch told the rest of the household that the boy's name was Waver Velvet.

"Oh right", the hazel-haired woman, which Zelretch assumed to be Frea due to the fact that she was an Elf, spoke up, as if suddenly just remembering something, "You still weren't here when he also said that he was Odin. Maybe the shock was guaranteed."

"I'm sorry, but did that old man just say that he was a Divine Spirit!?" The girl with pale hair and eyes spoke up, an accussing finger pointed towards the screen. Zelretch glanced towards her identical twin, who had fuller blonde hair and blue eyes, and was also staring at the screen in slight shock. The Kaleidoscope presumed that they were the Jeannes that both Gaia and Alaya were arguing about earlier.

"You get used to it after the first time." Alaya said, with lifeless blue eyes looking even more lifeless as she stared at the screen, "It's plausible, given that his legend could be misconstrued as an act of Divine origin. He always seems to have a pattern of uplifting humans from different pantheons during the Age of Gods. If this trend continues, then his other identities would be Prometheus and Sun Wukong. I'm still checking up on the different mythologies as of the moment, but there is always a common thread."

The disbelief was beginning to wane, and Waver was already asking questions in his prepubescent tune. _"Wait! I thought that Divine Spirits couldn't be summoned by the Grail! How did you get yourself summoned in the first place!?"_

Zelretch nodded his head as well. He wanted to know just how did Bree pass through that restriction. Summoning a Divine Spirit always hosts innumerable problems after all, the least of which was the absurd amount of prana required in order to do so.

 _"Well, it's quite simple really", Bree said, holding up an index finger as if he were to explain something, "You see, Divine Spirits could be summoned in their reduced forms if they were to merge with the consciousness with a person that shares their traits. I just happened to be the closest one, so here I am." He hummed, rubbing his chin in thought as he stared up at the sky, "It's weird, though. I'm still alive and kicking after all, so why could Enki be summoned as a Servant?"_

 _Silence echoed in between the trio, before Waver exploded yet again. "Explain!"_

 _"Keep your voice down, brat. You're hurting my ears here", Bree replied, sticking a finger in his ear as if trying to regain his hearing, "Remember how the Gods disappeared during the Age of Man?" At Waver's nod, the silver-haired man continued on with his explanation, "The main reason for the disappearance was because of the loss of power gathered by faith. When the Babylonian pantheon had to split up due to Ishtar's mistake-" He spoke the name of the goddess with visible rage hidden behind a calm exterior, "-I stayed here, making sure that the humanity that I created kept on surviving."_

Waver was about to ask another question when the viewing screen flickered off, and everyone in the household turned towards Zelretch, the latter in turn shrugging sheepishly. "I stored some prana in the gem itself, but it turns out that the consumption rateis higher than I thought. Anyone want to be a prana generator?" All stares turned towards the red-eyed young man in the room, wearing a dress shirt and pants. He stiffened and scowled under the stares, yet quickly folded when the two Jeannes stared at him with pleading eyes.

"...Fine. But I get Shirou's cooking to myself later", he grumbled, getting out of his seat and touching the gem for the television. Golden lines flowed from the boy's arm towards the crystal, recharging it and serving as its temporary prana source.

"As expected of Fafnir, being able to produce prana just by breathing." Shirou said in honest amazement, with the boy's eye twitching at the remark. Zelretch stared upon this scene with a deadpan expression on his face, before he cleared his throat and addressed the entire room.

"So about what Bree said earlier", he began, "Is he actually what he described he was?"

At that instant, Frea, Gaia, and Alaya looked upon the Kaleidoscope with varying looks of pity on their faces.

"""He"s just pulling your leg."""


	27. On Divinity, Clones, and Complications

I stared at the heart of the Grail, my expression one made out of steel as I stepped forward, the ritual circle coming to life. Underneath Mount Enzo, the Greater Grail stirred, a black mud morphing into a human-shaped figure. I stopped by a few meters in front of it, watching as the mud created more features such as eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair...a physical body to inhabit the realm.

And after it was done, Angra Mainyu stared at me with one golden eye open. "Ah, if it isn't the god-killer", it said, taking a step forward before it was chained down by iron links that had once bound Prometheus. It simply took one look at the thing, before using its Authority to immediately snap the supposedly-indestructible chains in half. However, I bought time.

"[Seraphim, set.]"

My Mystic Code formed in concentric circles around me, arranging itself into the form of a large and ornate tree. Gügnir rose from its holster and merged with the construct, acting as a root for the actual Mystery to manifest. Angra Mainyu took another step forward, but I could notice its limp. A side-effect of using too much mana in order to sustain the Grail War itself. "You know that killing me would only injure the vessel. You cannot kill evil in its most primal. One can slay its avatar yes, just like what you have done with Ishtar, yet know that the actual concepts themselves cannot be diminished. For we born of Divinity can only survive through humanity's conceptualization of our domain, no matter how eldritch it might be."

"[Keter, manifest.]"

"God. Human. _Mortal_." The figure sneered. "All of them are the same at the basic level, aren't they, _Enki_?"

I tilt my head, putting a hand on my chin as I hummed in thought. "...True", I said, giving my assent with a furrowed brow. Damn do I hate it that I need to , "Gods are at best function the same as human beings. That would mean of course that even they are under the purview of your domain." My eye gazed back towards the mud figure, and it stepped back. "However, being as you were made from the 'concept of man's evils', it still binds you to Gaia's laws. You are not a 'true' God, Mainyu. Do you know what constitutes a 'true God'?"

My arms extended, and the tree that had been conjured behind me expanded into a blossom that enveloped the entirety of Fuyuki. Roots entrenched the ground, shifting the material plane into the astral one, and Angra Mainyu's vessel faded away to reveal his true form, which is a...well, something that I don't normally describe unless you're another Divine Spirit, a Beast from the Reverse Side of the World, Alaya's Counter Guardians, Dead Apostles, or people who have Reality Marbles. Seriously. You don't just describe the true forms of Divine Spirits.

I slapped my cheeks, bringing my focus back to the thing in front of me, a smirk forming on my face. I was known as the god-killer once, alongside a few other people that had managed to survive against the more-than-admittedly-impossible-odds. Time to take the cake for the highest number of gods killed once again.

/-/

"...And that is what the original said, before sending me off to deliver my message", I said, scratching my cheek at the twitching eyebrows of most of the people in the household. Once I had gotten the scent of killing intent in the air, I immediately held up my arms in order to placate whoever it was...oh, it's Frea. "Um...as consolation, he said that he learned from his mistakes last time and went off to face Angra Mainyu alone?"

"How is that called 'learning from his mistakes'!?" She screamed, immediately lunging towards my neck in a chokehold. Luckily, the original granted me the abilities of dodging an irate Frea, and so I quickly rolled to the side and avoided being shredded into pieces alongside the couch. "You!" She screamed, pointing a finger at me as I felt the cold hand of death grasp my shoulder, "Even though you're a clone, you _are_ technically still him, right?"

"Uh..." Just how do I answer that, really? I was meant to be a stand-in for the original while he goes and fights all of humanity's evil, and considering how easily he trashed Primate Murder, I'm pretty sure that all he's going to do is to take his sweet time in breaking the bastard down piece-by-piece in his own personal realm. So that means that he's technically taking a very, _very_ extended leave...and I was supposed to be his stand-in, with all of his thought processes, abilities, and everything intact. "I guess...?"

"Good." Frea replied, with a smile that my imparted memories told me that something bad was immediately going to happen. It came not a moment later, with a stack of paperwork immediately appearing in the air in front of me, and I had to carry the damn things before it scattered all about the shack. The stack reached up to my nose, and I grunted under the strain as I saw Frea's smirk grow into something more malicious. "Now, go and help me with the paperwork, alright? You're technically still supposed to manage the entirety of the Reverse Side, after all."

"Ah, Sensei", my eyes turned towards Shirou, who was staring at me with a pleading look on his face, "Ergele needs some sharpening. Can you help me with that?"

"Bree", my eyes turned towards Fafnir, and I could see a hint of desperation in his face. It's hard to miss it, given that the two Jeannes were fighting over him...again. "I require your assistance in distracting the two of them for a while so that I can sleep."

Gaia and Alaya simply stared at one another in silence, before looking towards me.

...Alright, head-count. There's current three main Brees out there in the field: one that's currently fighting Angra Mainyu (the original); the other one that's fighting in the Fourth Holy Grail War (aka clone Alpha), and me...responsible for making sure that the household doesn't blow itself up or something along those lines (aka clone Zulu).

I couldn't help but sigh at that. Things just got a lot more complicated.


	28. On Merlin

/Clone Zulu/

There are times that I would just like to spend the day away just lazing about the shores that led to Avalon. There are also times wherein I visit the fields, and I see the little girl in there hanging around with another version of Shirou. But most of the times I visit Avalon, it was to do one objective and one objective only: to go troll other people with Merlin.

"Oh man!" The old magus screamed, holding his sides in laughter while slapping my shoulder. I snorted, snickering at the chatroom that Merlin had showed me, where he was constantly trolling this one idiot that thinks he's an idol. Of course, Merlin could actually _be_ one since he could change someone's gender at will, and he seemed to use that whenever he goes on one of his online streams and directly insults the idiot right in front of his face. Romani Archaman, was it...? I _know_ that name from somewhere, but I just can't do it at the tip of my tongue...

Also, additional fact. I'm actually the cameraman whenever Merlin streams live.

In any case, we were currently bonding over the idiot's misfortune at being a sucker for internet trolls, when Merlin placed a hand on my shoulder with a gleam in his eye. "Bree", he said, his voice perfectly sincere as he slowly tightened his grip on my shoulder, "I think I've found a new way to pass the time."

"You're going to make me a girl, aren't you." I stated more than asked, and he quickly beamed at me and nodded in quick succession. I sighed, nodding at him to continue, and I found myself sighing when he simply tapped my shoulder with a pulse of prana in order to forcefully change my gender. I gritted my teeth, trying to dull out the pain, and I'm sure that most books downplay this, but forcefully changing a person's sex is _not_ a painless action. You had to go through the pain of your...well, _parts_ morphing into something...else, and you had to endure it for _twelve **agonizing** seconds _before the change is complete. Plus, you still have the hormone imbalances that may result in different body changes brought about by- well, you get the point.

The point was I could've done the same thing myself with just a snap of my fingers, but I do think that Merlin was just trying to get back at me for filling up his blow-up doll (and I _will_ call it that) with foam. Damn magus trying to relieve his sexual urges my transmuting an empty homunculus with a female version of himself...

I hacked and coughed, dropping to the ground while giving Merlin the ugliest of stares that I had ever given, and he quickly winced and put up a barrier around him just in time for Gugnir to bounce off his shield. Damn silver-haired asshole and his invincible shields...wait, does that apply to me as well? "You know", he piped up as he prodded me with his staff and wasn't immediately burnt to a crisp, "I didn't notice this since you were obviously a guy for every time that I met you, but...you're actually pretty beautiful as a girl. Do you want to stay here for some tea?"

Merlin stared at me with an encouraging smile on his face, and I immediately retaliated by blasting him out of the tower that we were currently in. Of course, given the barriers that Morgan set into this place, he immediately began screaming in pain as the curses in the barrier activated almost immediately, and I felt a certain amount of catharsis as I conjured a mirror and stared at my reflection. I raised an eyebrow, and I stared at the currently shrieking Merlin, still being pounded by curses, and quickly snorted in amusement as I made my way down his tower. At least for all of her faults, Morgan knew how to best torture Merlin.

Which is of course, giving him blue balls.

/Clone Zulu/

"Bree..."

I coughed, glancing away from Frea as I pleaded towards Gaia and Alaya for help, but they just seemed to revel in my misery and let me deal with Frea by herself. "Well", I began, scratching the back of my head in response to Frea's flat stare, "I do think that girl-on-girl is hot."

"Wrong thing to say."

"Merlin did it!" I quickly screamed, ducking behind the couch and readying Gugnir just in case that Frea actually blows her top and decides to kill me. When there was no sign of imminent death, I slowly peeked over the couch and saw Frea sitting back down on the couch, simply staring at me with a blank expression on her face. My eyebrows furrowed and narrowed at the same time, staring the the elf in suspicion. "...Why aren't you attacking me for this?"

Frea raised an eyebrow at me as I slid onto the other side of the couch, gingerly taking hold of the paperwork as both a shield and a hostage against Frea-induced violence. "I _do_ know that a gender-transmutation spell isn't the most...painless of things to go through. I had to cast one of them a few times, and my recipients weren't exactly...pleased, by the process." She glanced away from me, her gray eyes finding solace outside the window while she scowled. "So it must've been a no-brainer for you to take revenge against that asshole the moment you were done switching out...that-" She waved towards my crotch, "-with one of my own gender."

She sent a sly glance towards me, along with a smirk on her face, " _Although_ , since you _are_ trying to ask for it, I'll make sure that you get to cover some ground rules while living your life as a fully-fledged woman." The blood paled from my face, and she snorted at the pallid expression that I wore. "...Seriously, Bree. It's Merlin. He wouldn't make it permanent...unless you did something to the puppet that you gave him. You _did_ make sure that you didn't touch it, right?" Now, _her_ expression was one of disgust when I stayed quiet. "Damn it, Bree. I thought you of all people would be wary around his glorified blow-up doll. _Especially_ when it looks squeaky clean."

Horror immediately washed through my body as I stared at my hands with wide eyes, the moment of realization that I hadn't been wearing gloves for the last few times that I've been to Merlin's tower. Sure, it looked clean from the outside, but who knows whether or not he actually _cleaned_ it, or the whole place looked like a Jason Pollock painting? My eyes closed, and I could already hear the tears streaming out of my sockets, and I tried to wipe them off with my forearm. Frea could only place a hand on my shoulder in pity.

"...I do think that girl-on-girl is hot, but I'd prefer to simply watch it."

Damn it...


	29. On Star Wars, Greeks, and Pantheons

/Clone Alpha/

My eyes widened, the remote falling out of my grip as I stared at the television with an unnaturally tense look on my face. Whatever it was, _something_ had clearly violated a part of my existence, and so I couldn't help but immediately stand up and look at my surroundings with a determined expression. "What's wrong?"

"...There is a disturbance in the F*rce."

"Oho, I think I know that one. St*r W*rs, right?" I turned towards 'Alex' and gave the large redhead a nod, before his genial smile morphed into a neutral line. "So, what could set you off like this? It isn't everyday that you see a powerful Divine Spirit like yourself freak out over something."

"It's probably nothing", I said, silently swearing at both Merlin and Zelretch under my breath. "Someone was messing with a clone of mine, so I immediately felt the disturbance like a mental link between you and your Master." My gaze moved over Waver, who was currently watching the conversation with a strangely-intense expression on his face. It seemed like he was constipating. "And if someone was enough to mess with a clone of mine, however degraded their powers might be, then what that clone was currently facing was at least a magus from the Age of Gods."

Waver gulped. "So...?"

"Obviously, everything's fine."

The kid looked like he'd been struck with a bat at the back of his head, since it seemed like he lost his balance due to Gaia's will. "What do you mean everything's fine!?" He screamed, immediately pointing a finger towards me as I stared at the offending digit with a blank expression on my face. Ah, there was the annoying tone that I both hated and loved. "We've got a magus from the Age of Gods currently being able to affect a Divine Spirit, so wouldn't it be a cause for alarm!?"

"Brat, calm down." Alex chided, flicking Waver's forehead and sending him tumbling back towards his bed. His eyes flickered towards me, and a shimmer of intelligence gleamed in those eyes. "Our friend Enki here says that everything's fine since the one currently being affected was a clone. It wasn't as if that enemy could extract much information from a mere clone. Am I right?" As I nodded enthusiastically, Alex's expression immediately turned for the better, a wide grin on his face as he slapped Waver's back. Seriously, poor guy. "See what I mean by reading in between the lines, brat? You could gain more valuable information if you didn't panic and observe what they are suggesting with their words! It's an invaluable skill to have in this world!"

"I-I think I can manage..."

I snickered at Waver's pallid expression as he collapsed face-first into the bed, and I barely held a laugh as I turned towards Alex. "Well, there goes that avenue of training him to be your court magus." I said with a shrug, and he hummed before staring at me with his blank gaze once again. "...What is it?"

"You are very unlike what I expected of a god- no, I mean a Divine Spirit." He said, in that old, contemplative tone that meant that he was currently serious. "You are calm-headed and quick of wit, along with possessing a humble pride like that of a hero. Of course, there is your grudge with the golden king..." I growled at the moniker, but I quickly realized what I was doing and immediately stopped. "...But I do think that it is more out of his legend, than anything else. Plus, you seem like the type to actively support humanity in its endeavors instead of being embittered by them." A frown formed on his face before he looked at me with confusion in his gaze. "...Why _aren't_ we praying to you instead of the Greek gods themselves?"

"Ugh, don't get me started on _that_ screwed-up family tree", I said with a scowl, scratching the back of my head as I motioned Alex to sit beside me while I tried to focus on the movie currently playing on the television. "You see, I met them once while I was travelling around the world after Uruk's fall. I did some jobs on the side, like helping some settlements out with their monster problems, and made them weapons and armor to defend themselves, and it was when I was travelling around the area to be known as Greece when one of the gods suddenly approached me from out of nowhere."

"Turns out, it was Hephaestus", I said, moving my hands like fireworks as I gave a smirk, "Asked me for some help in making some weapons as well. Of course, given that he was a god of fire and I was a god of water, we had some _minor_ _disagreements_ about what exactly were we supposed to make, but everything turned out fine in the end. Made some weapons for some demigods that the Olympian council gave favor to. Hephaestus even asked me to go to the council for once in order to get my 'just rewards', so I followed him out of simple courtesy." I scowled, and Alex sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And let me guess: That's where things went down the drain, didn't it?" He said in a despairing tone, and I nodded stiffly in response to his question. It wasn't everyday that you get to know what kind of people your gods were, but having one with a first-person perspective- as biased as it may be- helped in piecing their personalities together.

"Indeed. Zeus tried to induct me into the ranks of the Olympian Council, thinking about replacing Hephaestus as a god of the forge." Alex frowned and I sighed. He hasn't even heard of the worst part yet. "Naturally, I refused. I respected Hephaestus too much to be able to do that. Anti-social prick he might be, he has a good heart, and he certainly made up for his so-called 'physical deformities' with his imagination." My eyes narrowed as I tried to bore a hole through the television, but sadly the glass was able to prevent me from boring a hole any further. "When Zeus didn't like that, he tried to force me into his Council." Alex snorted, and I smirked at him for having a good sense of humor. Seriously, even if there were twelve of them, did they really think that they could stand up to a Divine Spirit from the very first pantheon?

"So, I gave all of them a sound beating- excluding Hephaestus, of course- and started on pointing out all of their faults and the fact that there were nothing more than power-hungry, paranoid psychopaths and sociopaths hell-bent on making the life of mortals miserable. I was _this_ close to killing Zeus, but then that would upend the entire pantheon." I sighed, the vitriol leaving out of my body as I tried to focus on the movie once again. "...So I left them alone. Who knows how much they changed, but after reading a bit of mythology books right now, I can only say that they've gotten worse since then. Spiteful brats, not even listening to their elders..."

There was silence after that, and the two of us turned back towards watching the movie. As of the moment, L*ke Skyw*lk*r and co. were already making their way towards the D**th St*r's exhaust port, and I had to physically restrain Alex from meeting George Lucas and demand that he give the blueprints for _both_ the X-W*ngs and the T** F*ght*rs. After a good hearty laugh at the explosion in space, Alex turned towards me, this time with an inquisitive look on his face.

"So, did you meet any other pantheons until the present?"

"Yeah, I did." The smirk was back up on my face, my mood completely back to normal. "Now, there were the Mayans and the Aztec pantheons, who were genuinely good people, but it seemed like their communication of just shining some flashes of light at their temples made for some pretty bad miscommunication..."

Alex laughed at the morbid yet humorous story, and I couldn't help but chuckle along a few times while I was telling the story as well. Damn it, if this keeps up, then I'm definitely bestowing my blessing on Alex. He's just too damn good of a storytelling partner.


	30. On Pendants, Permission, and Nosebleeds

/Clone Zulu/

It's weird, getting used to a female body. I mean, there _are_ some merits to be had, considering that I was currently inside the female bath without being slaughtered by everyone else inside of it, but it just feels... _weird_ , to be stared at by everyone inside. My gaze moved from side to side, trying to avoid the stares sent my way, but the prevalent steam couldn't even hide me from their piercing stares. "That's it", I said, standing up and turning towards the entrance of the bath. "I'm going to where Shirou and Fafnir are currently hanging out."

"Wait!" Someone screamed, and I barely even took a step forward before I felt someone grab my shin and try to pull me back into the den of wolves. I _could_ tell you that I squawked like someone had began strangling the life out of me, but I'm sure that you were just hearing things. I mean, it's not that Frea was the one that tried to pull me back into the bath or anything. Additionally, it's not like she had a grip as strong as a dragon's or anything, so there was no way that I could get out of her grip using normal means or something like that. I didn't try and contact the original and the other clone to make sure that I got out of this situation unscathed. Not really.

"You know, the rest of us are wondering as to _how_ you're more beautiful than us when we're an elf and a Heroic Spirit, respectively..."

I need help!

/Clone Alpha/

As of the moment, I was currently walking around Fuyuki with Alex and Waver, trying to set up some interconnected and decentralized Bounded Fields. Of course, it would mean an enormous drain on my magical reserves if I were to do it with ordinary means, but when you literally have the First Sorcery at your disposal, it just makes things so much easier. Technically, the whole of Fuyuki was my playground now, and all of the leylines within it are under my control, so all I could do was just twitch a finger and then they'd be subjected to a wonderful phenomenon that I call 'Frea's reality slashes'.

The three of us just passed an alleyway when my pendant suddenly glowed, forcing me to stop in the middle of my tracks as I brought it up to my face. Sure enough, the onyx embedded onto it was gleaming with an unnatural sheen. Although...why would the original or Zulu contact me while I'm in the midst of making my preparations? "Hm? Is something wrong, Enki?"

"Yeah", I said, motioning towards the alleyway as the three of us managed to fit in. I removed the pendant from my neck, and tossed the thing out in front of me, watching as the artificial Circuits inside the pendant glow and morph into an oval-shaped portal. It was true that I needed the help of Zelretch in order to make sure that the pendant doesn't blow up after a single use, but I was pressed for time to create a working prototype. Of course, it came at the cost of giving his ditz of a granddaughter a boyfriend, but oh well. Shiki should be fine...I think.

In any case, the portal solidified, but what came out of it was roiling waves of steam, coming from...Wait. Is that...who I think it is? "Alpha! Help me! Frea and the Jeannes are trying to strip me of my chastity~!" I sighed, waving the air away with a simple flick of my wrist, revealing Zulu's naked body...which is apparently a woman. Also, I'm feeling weird for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with a female clone of myself being so hot or something. Ugh, what would the original say at a time like this?

/Original/

"I'd tap that!" I loudly proclaim, before charging towards the current vessel of Angra Mainyu, a woman wearing black clothing and having white hair and red eyes.

/Clone Alpha/

...As of the moment, I had Zulu clothed back inside Waver's room, now currently wearing some jeans and a medium-fit sweater. Of course, standard protocol in suppressing my left eye's powers necessitated the use of glasses, which only made me more confused at my own sexuality. I mean, forgive me for informing everyone of this, but female version of me is _hot_. "So, is she the other clone that you spoke about?"

"Pretty much, yeah", I said, pinching the bridge of my nose as I heaved an exasperated sigh, pointedly glaring at Zulu in the process. "You _do_ know that you have to go back sometime later, right? The original made you to take care of the affairs back home, after all. As for me, I'm just going to go 'poof' when the War's over. That means you have to find a way to reverse...whatever Merlin did to your body." I said, narrowing my gaze at Zulu as I hummed. She seemed to have the same instincts as the original however, since she immediately tucked herself up into a tight ball, with heterochromic eyes staring at me with suspicion.

"Know that I won't do it without the original's express permission." She said in a flat tone, as if it had already been rehearsed way ahead of time. Come to think of it, that's what the original would also say if a clone of him would be interested in doing such a thing. Such foresight...as I expected, the original is a person worthy of veneration. "...Now I'm worried that you'll start a cult, so please stop. It's already awkward in the household with the original's reveal that the original was actually a Divine Spirit, and you'll only make it worse if you spread the word around."

"But-"

"The Reverse Side of the World is fine. No human could ever pass through there anyways", Zulu immediately replied with a wry smirk, glancing away from me with a smug look on her face. My eye twitched; the original's memories on how he had gotten through the Reverse Side of the World showing me just how exactly he had done such an 'impossible' thing, and I immediately decried Zulu in my mind as a hypocrite. "In any case, since I wasn't able to take a bath back home, I'd like to make use of your current bath-!?"

"Oh, Bree~" I froze, recognizing that tone from _anywhere,_ and I immediately glanced towards the door as it slammed open, revealing Frea that was currently wearing a bath towel. _Only_ a bath towel. As if it was a natural occurrence, I immediately took steps to prevent the nosebleed that was already flowing freely, and I took a few deep breaths in order to calm myself down. Alex and Waver had frozen up as well, and Waver was immediately knocked out due to blood loss that came from his nostrils. Alex had immediately stemmed the bleeding from his nose, but I could still see that his entire body was tinged with a light red.

"Alpha!" Zulu immediately said, her eyes widening in terror as she lunged towards me, only to be caught mid-dash by a smiling Frea. "Alpha, help me out of here! I swear I'll give my consent if you do it! Come on! Hurry!" As she screamed about giving me some privileges here and there, I could only smile at her and wave her goodbye. Seriously, do I look like a person with no common sense? Frea was _smiling_ for goodness's sake. There's no way that I'd get into that.

As the two of them disappeared via Zulu's pendant, I waited for a few seconds to make sure that they were gone, before I turned towards both Alex and Waver with a vicious glare. "That was the original's wife. If you ever have _any_ dirty thoughts about her- and I _will_ know if you do so- I'll kill you right where you stand. Capiche?"

"Yeah..."

Waver simply gurgled underneath the pool of blood that he created.


	31. On the Origins of Divine Spirits

/Original/

Divinity is not something that is simply acquired by ordinary humans. Note what I said, and compare it to what Angra Mainyu had deduced. Indeed, gods and mortals alike are very similar in structure, function, and thought, but he is also wrong in one key aspect: the gods that humanity knows today are not part of Gaia's system. Pretty intuitive, right? Well, I'll continue on with the discussion. Keeping the guy busy with another one of my clones, but I don't think that it'll last much longer.

In any case, all Divine Spirits have a little something...'extra', in their body, so to speak. This substance, I call 'Grain'. In truth, this is basically just crystallized mana, but exponentially more dense than anything than anyone could find on earth. These coalesce into certain areas of our body, but the amount of Grain that a top-tier Divine Spirit can absorb essentially mutates their body into something...different. You've heard of Mana Cores and their subsequent analogy to Magic Circuits, am I right? About how a factory generates od at a larger pace than what a simple Magic Circuit can do? Well...the amount of Grain in the bodies of Divine Spirits essentially turn them into Aristoteles effegies.

You heard that correctly. Beings with the ability to generate an od equivalent of an entire _world._ Well, not necessarily, but since I'm the only Divine Spirit left on Earth, all of that Grain has to go somewhere. And it goes to me. It couldn't transfer into an ordinary human or a magus- not even Magicians can whiff in the damn stuff. Grain particles are only registered towards the species that could comprehend the stuff, and so all of it goes to me.

Now, I'm sure that there's currently a lot of questions on everybody's mind. First and foremost of all: what _exactly_ is this Grain? Well...are you guys taking notes? Because you should.

For this 'Grain' substance that I keep on telling you people...it's what remains of our original planet.

...Yes, I do believe the conspiracy theorists were correct in saying that the gods were actually aliens from outer space. I mean, do you _really_ think that Gaia wouldn't notice our presence here during the Age of Gods and try to eliminate the lot of us? The Kraken? Yeah, totally her. Phantasmal Beast straight out from the abyss, but lucky that the upgrades that Hephaestus and I worked on allowed him to control it. And the Bull of Heaven? An equivalent of a nuke to repel any more Divine Spirits from entering Earth. I mean, I left it be considering that the later pantheons were assholes -not counting Hephaestus, the Aztecs, and the Mayans, by the way, but some bratty half-pint tried to weaponize the damn thing and rampaged around Uruk with it. Was I talking about Ishtar? Yes, _her_. Main reason why I took my time in _**killi** ng th **a** t **dam** n bi **tc** h._

In any case, we got so annoying that Gaia just left us be. I mean, it hates humans for trying to establish themselves as the top-tier predator or something, right? And the other Divine Spirits liked to toy with humans as well. Gaia wins in the end, actually, considering that most of the manipulation done by the other Divine Spirits resulted in someone's death.

Oh, and yes. We killed our planet, and it gave us enough power to colonize other worlds. It also had the possibility of getting even _more_ Grain just by conquering other worlds and the like, but considering that the Sol system has too many Aristoteles - which means that there's confirmed life on the other planets, by the way - we weren't so gung-ho about nuking the Earth to oblivion. I mean...Grain isn't necessarily the golden ticket to absolute power or something. I mean, I _did_ tell you that Grain came from the remains of our home planet, which meant that first things first, you had to kill the planet that you were currently on. Which you depended on for survival. Yes, we _were_ that stupid.

Ah, and then there were _more_ wonderful things after we killed our planet. You see, once Grain started feeling the air, you had no choice but to consume it. Of course, with Grain being 'extremely dense mana particles', it resulted in...well, less-than-pleasant mutations. It's actually the main reason why Hephaestus is said to be 'physically-impaired' in the mythologies; mutations between gods made for _very_ affected children, with Zeus and Hera drawing the short straw when the latter gave birth to Hephaestus. The Grain didn't properly spread throughout his body and instead bulged out in specific areas, which resulted in rapid cell growth and...let's just say that your skin being full of grapes is the lightest way that I can put it. As for the other Divine Spirits, they came from their exposure...changed. Or so I'd like to say to keep good faith, but most of them really just died when the mutations proved to be cancerous. They were the lucky ones, really. Most of the survivors that had been exposed to Grain had been a bit- alright, maybe a _lot_ \- unhinged, and people like me and Hephaestus were the rare breeds that emerged from the process fully sane. Of course, this also comes into the expense of the other unhinged assholes trying to kill us, so at least you have a new perspective of the fact that Hera just tossed baby-Hephaestus off Olympus. I swear, they're like Nazis, but worse...

For the third thing that we needed to endure, we had to survive the cold depths of outer space. Well, I mean we had to survive the boredom of being adrift in space, searching for some other planet that had the necessary components for us to comfortably live in, but it _was_ a genuine concern. Do you really think that I'd still be sane after a few...let's say _billion_ years just drifting through the stars, unable to feel pain, resigning myself to being pulled into the gravity well of an inhospitable planet? Yeah, I almost cracked a few times. Not to mention there was that one time that I almost had enough and blowed up this planet, but then immediately got suckered into Earth's gravity well not even a few years later.

So uh...sorry for the asteroid belt. But there's a high chance that you'll make it through unscathed, since you have those guidance systems in your spacecraft. Oh, right. Since I technically killed the fifth planet, I also got all of its Grain. Neat, right?

No. I had to go through that whole process of mutation. _Again_. So I _do_ think the next time that Frea suggests sticking something in a place where it shouldn't be stuck up into, I think that she needs to praise me on my pain tolerance. Got that?

...Ah. My clone died. Well, I'll be ending this transmission now. Guess I'll see you guys in a few. Oh, and message for clone Zulu...uh, let me just get my memo pad. Ah! There we go! Let's see here...

'I'd tap that.'

/Clone Zulu/

All of the household stared at the screen with varying reactions on their faces. The two Jeannes and Shirou didn't seem all-too bothered; they were just enlightened that they learned a new thing about the original. Fafnir, Gaia and Alaya had expressions of slight fear on their faces, and I couldn't help but smile at the two of them behind a hand. As for me, well...I couldn't help but shudder. If even the original wants my chastity, then there's no place safe. I need to change back _now._

"Wait", Shirou suddenly spoke up, gaining the attention of the whole household as he immediately froze up. A second later, he coughed, and glanced to the side with a fierce blush on his face. I raised an eyebrow at him, which prompted him to speak something that I had never heard of in a long time. "About what Sensei said to his message to Frea..."

...Oh. _That_.

The rest of us turned towards Frea, who was currently hiding her face in between her hands. The marks on her body glowed a vibrant pink however, which meant that what the original said _was_ true. A light gleamed in my eyes, and my smile morphed into a sadistic smirk. I could also see the same expressions on everyone else in the household as we advanced towards the hapless elf.

Revenge had never been so satisfying.


	32. On Boredom, Domains, and Revenge

/Clone Alpha/

There is something to be said about being too bored that you're actually searching for a fight. Actually, scratch that. It was really stupid of me to just stand out here in the middle of the river, trying to prepare a flashy spell to immediately kill all the other Servants (save for Alexander, of course), and _not_ expect all of the Masters to try and stop me. I mean, considering that my spell consists of turning Fuyuki into a landscape that Zelretch would personally approve of (includes unicorns, rainbows, and adding cereal before the milk of course), I do think that their concerns were a bit...justified.

"Your villainy ends now, Caster!" Oh, boy. here goes the first of them. First of all, I'm no villain. Now, I _might_ admit that I have been a little too gung-ho with the spell, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to break out Carnwennan on _me_ , of all people. I mean, sure I got my left eye sealed, but I could still see through it perfectly fine, you know? There's a reason why my eyepatch of power (lol) has all kinds of lenses that mimic certain effects of Pure Eyes. Like for example...Pure Eyes of Mana Perception.

"...Might as well get it over with", I said with a sigh, creating another clone to become the focal point of the spell so that I could fight effectively. Or in any case, fight with _both_ of my arms instead of just one. Although, it also puts me at a disadvantage of trying to make sure that the clone was safe so that the spell could actually manifest instead of...you know, nuking Fuyuki to the ground.

I cracked my knuckles. Totally unnecessary, but think of it as something that I'd like to do when it comes to good-old fisticuffs...Which is the main reason why I immediately dodged to the right, just in time to get my face being speared through by Gae Dearg. "You know, moving like an Assassin isn't doing you any favors, Diarmuid." I smirked at the Irish hero, watching his face contort into unholy rage before fading away into a cool calm. It seemed like a new record, about two seconds lower from last time.

"Silence, fiend." He said in a clipped tone, "I was fine with just spearing your face in due to your insults against my honor, but to seem like you're the same kind of monster that would involve innocents...Even death would not be enough to save you, oh _Divine Spirit_." Twin flashes of gold and red were deflected by Gugnir, and I immediately materialized a cloak of blades around me, warding off a few dirks that aimed for various spots on my body. All fatal, by the way.

"Go home, Assassin." I said, my voice now turning calm as I turned to face Assassin. Or at least, _all_ of the remaining ones. "If you enter this, make no mistake- you _will_ die. Are you fine with such a thing?"

"We follow our Master's orders till the end", one of the Assassins said, a young woman with hair tied up into a ponytail. "If our sacrifice would be enough to keep the veil of magecraft from lifting onto the mundane world, then we shall gladly serve. Even if it means fighting against the gods themselves."

I sighed, turning my gaze towards the horizon, where the once-King of Uruk once stood. "Ah. Even the idiot is here too."

"Even if you are nothing more than a filthy god, I do believe that I could have a modicum of respect towards you..." He said with twitching eyes, and I simply replied with a raised brow. Fury brimmed beneath the surface, and my smile showed a bit more teeth than what was commonly respectable. The blades behind my back brimmed in anticipation of the slaughter that was to come, and my eyes turned towards the blade in the idiot's hand. "Indeed. As the King of this world, I would be the one who would judge your misdeeds and send you back to Irkalla. I hope you do enjoy your stay there."

"...Ea, huh." I said, my voice growing more emotionless by the second as I laid my eyes on the blade. My eyes closed, a deep breath escaping the depths of my soul as I tried to keep myself calm. Let's see here...Saber, Archer, Lancer, Assassin, Caster, Rider, Berserker...there's still one Servant remaining and- oh, I guess there he is. Uh, let's see...a simple Analysis spell wouldn't work, so let's cheat a little bit, shall we?

The lenses over my eyepatch clacked and began to spin, giving off a variety of ethereal colors that man couldn't simply understand. Still, connecting to Akasha every time I did this took so long that even _I_ don't normally use this as a tool...oh, I got it. Lancelot du Lac. It explains _why_ Berserker was looking at Saber like he wanted to kill her, but something stopped him from doing such a thing. Command Seals, perhaps? Probably a lot then, since his skills would negate ordinary magecraft by a large amount.

"Very well." I said, a smirk forming on my face as the spell itself completed right under their eyes. Seriously, heroes just _loved_ to brag. Well, it certainly works in my favor, since they all got suckered into measuring who has the bigger stick. Sucks to be them, I guess, since my spell had already completed. " **All of you who wish to challenge a god...** " Ugh, here goes my tendencies again. Hope that Frea wasn't watching this... " **Come and see my Domain in all of its splendor.** "

Immediately, looks of alarm rang throughout the rest of the Servants, but they were already too late. Tendrils of mana had enveloped the whole of Fuyuki, the Boundary Fields that I had set up earlier activating and tapping into the leylines to feed the spell, transporting all of us into a Reality Marble of my own making...yet not quite what a Reality Marble is supposed to be. As I said before, it was a Domain. The same type of Domain that constantly transformed the surroundings of ORT into crystals. Which means...they were already inside my world.

" **Welcome, to my World, [Aetheria: The Garden of Eden's Splendor].** "

Now...first things first...let's get rid of that Anti-World Noble Phantasm, shall we?

/Clone Zulu/

Gaia immediately froze, a gasp escaping from her lips as if she had been bitch-slapped by someone. A few seconds later, her brows furrowed and her expression warped into one of unfathomable rage, and she was already a quarter of the way to pounce on me before she was stopped by Alaya. "Mother, what is wrong?" She asked, a worried expression on her face that was so unlike her that I had to blink and rub my eyes just to see that it wasn't an illusion.

"One of you..." The Earth Mother immediately replied, turning her gaze onto me. Silver eyes smoldered with tranquil rage, and I noticed that her fingers had been outstretched into claws. "...I don't know whether or not it's you, the other clone, or the original that did this to me, but rest assured. You _**wi** ll _take responsibility for this." I simply stared at Gaia with a dumb look on my face, and she blinked at me for a few seconds before she heaved a sigh, her temper ebbing away like the wind. "It's obvious by your expression that you do not know of this, but I'll answer your query just to make sure", she said, keeping her silver gaze on me as I motioned for her to continue. "...One of you forcefully activated a Domain."

"That's definitely not the original, then", I immediately replied, more out of common sense than anything else. It was obvious that the original didn't _have_ to do such a thing, since a small (yet still noticeable) Domain was with him the whole time. It told everyone just _how_ powerful he is to be consciously keeping track of his expenditures in keeping his domain. Now, if anyone had the bright (yet simultaneously dumb) idea to use Gaia as a power source for opening a Domain...damn it.

Gaia noticed my expression, jutting her chin out towards me for an answer. I couldn't help but sigh at that. "Just don't send any one of your Beasts after Alpha, alright?" I said, and realization flashed through Gaia's eyes before her silver gaze once again flared in anger. This time however, Alaya placed a hand on her (technically?) mother's arm, grasping it tightly and staring at her with emotionless blue eyes.

"Relax, mother", she said, her tone now as emotionless as her gaze. "If it is a clone of Bree that is responsible for forcing a Domain, then it would most likely disappear after a few hours. Stay calm, and blame him for everything when the original comes back."

I sighed, watching as Gaia calmed down almost instantly, a wide smile that had a sadistic glint to it plastered on her face. The original would have a _lot_ to answer for once he comes back home.


	33. On Life Decisions, Boredom, and Question

Tohsaka Tokiomi was currently regretting his life decisions.

He knew that Caster was a loose end that needed to be tied up immediately. In fact, he had collaborated with Father Risei to issue an order to every single Master in the War to quickly eliminate Caster. A Divine Spirit, no matter how weak it is due to being summoned in a Class container of a Servant, was not an easy thing to subdue. The Master of Lancer quickly realized such a thing, along with the Master of Saber. In fact, even the Master of Rider had been issued an order to band up in order to destroy the wayward Divine Spirit known as 'Enki' (and wasn't _that_ a treat? Humanity's original benefactor being summoned as a Servant...it brought chills up to Tokiomi's spine), but they ignored the order and kept their so-called 'alliance'.

Immediately, they mobilized in order to quickly kill Rider and his so-called 'Master', but Enki had made it sure that no one could lay an eye on the members of his 'alliance'. In fact, earlier during the day the trio had been about the city, setting up specialized Bounded Fields that were more complex than the one made by the Grail itself. Originally, its only purpose was to sap mana from the leylines and use it for...something, but when Lord El-Melloi tried to dispel it, he learned that it had a deadman's switch that would detonate the leyline itself if the Bounded Field was forcefully changed without the owner's permission. Therefore, they had tried to stop the Caster-class Servant immediately before he had set-up the Bounded Fields throughout the whole city, but he had been smart and stuck to the crowd. Now...now the rest of the Masters wished that they had just ignored the rules of the Association and immediately attacked the Servant right then and there.

With a single snap of the finger, all of the accumulated mana that Caster had gathered from his Boundary Fields were used up, transforming it into a translation spell that forcefully shifted others towards some sort of unknown location...his 'Domain', as Caster had called it. They could do nothing but watch as they were forcefully teleported into a genuinely alien landscape, one filled with floating fragments of a planet rotating a highly spinning core, with globs of magma and other shards of the crust floating freely around it. The grass seemed to made out of crystal, and the soil was as dense as lead, but Tokiomi had tried casting a Structural Analysis on a _single blade of grass_...and had nearly lost his mind.

At that singular instant, static had flowed into his head, and blood dribbled down his nose due to the sheer _alienness_ of the landscape before them. Indeed, he could see that the rest of the Masters were currently trying to cover their eyes, seeing as even _looking_ at the surroundings would let them catch a pounding migraine. Only the Servants were unaffected as far as Tokiomi could see, and the lot of them were currently gawking at their surroundings and wincing every so often. Even Gilgamesh had looked upon his surroundings with a cautious eye, as if everything would try to kill him here.

Domain...it was said by the Wizard Marshall himself that they can only be brought out by Divine Spirits. If Tokiomi and the others were currently facing a Divine Spirit inside its Domain...His blood paled, and he felt his skin tingle underneath his clothing. They had all failed.

As of the moment, whether they live or die...can only be decided by the smiling man in front of them.

/Clone Alpha/

"As expected of Heroic Spirits, not even backing down under the most impossible of circumstances." My voice was light and airy, as if I had taken a breath of fresh air, and I couldn't help but smile at the paling Masters behind them...with each and every single one of them staring at me in fear. "Your Masters could use a little bit of spine, you know? Even Waver here has more guts than them." I smirked towards Waver and gave him a smile, to which he replied with a quick wave of a hand before hiding behind Alexader's chariot. The big man simply laughed.

"So you say, but he is only lively due to being on your side", Saber said, and I couldn't help but snort at her as I aimed an index finger towards where Waver was supposed to be at and fired. The bolt of magical energy pierced through Rider's chariot and barely missed Waver in the face, yet after a second of gaping at me, he immediately stood up and started yapping at me at the top of his lungs.

"Hey! Watch where you're aiming that thing, Bree! You're supposed to aim it at them!"

"I rest my case." I replied with a smile, watching Saber's face twitch in annoyance before she brought her sword up to defend against whatever I can do to it. Sadly, since it's made by Gaia, I couldn't just yank it off of her and destroy it. That would make things...difficult for the original. So, I do what I always do when I have a problem that I couldn't normally solve just by blowing it up... "And there", I said with good cheer, watching as Excalibur disappeared from her grip and was dumped back into the Lake. "Couldn't have Gaia's construct interfering with things here, so good luck getting it back from Vivian, little girl." Once again, her eye twitched, and I was tempted to just make another snide remark before I attack, when Gilgamesh suddenly took the option out of my hands, unleashing Ea towards me.

I hummed, my left eye glowing in another flash of ethereal light. This time, I manually stitched together the space-time that enveloped Ea's area of effect, so the ultimate result of his attack was just a harmless gust of wind that emanated from his weapon. Really, did Gilgamesh think that just because I can't _normally_ break his weapon meant that I could do nothing about its effects? I mean, we're literally right in the middle of a world wherein I can control _everything_ that happens inside of it.

And you know what? I'm getting bored.

My eyepatch clicked, before the thrumming of the gears made itself known to the world at large. From within stared a singular golden eye in the shape of a dragon's, staring imperiously upon the invaders to my Domain. The connection to Akasha was made, and I searched through its folders in order to search for the Throne of Heroes. Through its vast archives I searched, aided by the flashes of memory that allowed me to gain a glimpse on their identities, and a few seconds later I found the thread that linked them altogether. Then...with a simple force of will, I simply cut off the connection.

And the four Servants currently facing me winked out of existence.

/~/

A flash of pain went through Tohsaka Tokiomi's mind before his mind experienced clarity, and he immediately gazed upon his right hand...to found the Command Seals missing. The blood paled from his face, his eyes snapping back towards the alien scenery in front of him, only to find that the rest of the Servants were gone. In its place was a Divine Spirit, looking down upon them with an eye of amethyst and an uncaring eye of gold. "Now..." It said, and for the first time since his birth Tokiomi had understood the true nature of a human's existence. "...What should I do with the lot of you?"

In an instant, Tokiomi found himself on his knees, and he gritted his teeth in order to bear with the pain. It was something that resonated deep within his soul, something that commanded him to _obey_ with all of his existence, and he spared a glance towards the other Masters to see them doing the same thing. "Huh, so the programming still persists, even up until present day...no, in fact, it has gotten stronger." A sigh graced his lips, and he scratched the back of his head while he pondered on what to do.

If only Tokiomi hadn't been curious enough to ask, then all of them would've made it out alive.


	34. On Sleep, Tour, and Triggers

/Clone Zulu/

The original had installed a system that allowed me to ignore whatever current event that was happening and making sure that I _do_ ignore it for the rest of eternity. As of the moment, I was currently using that system to its full potential, snuggling closer towards my warm pillow as I sighed in contented relief. I mean, why would I move from my current spot? It's warm. I mean, it's not due to the fact that I'm currently using Frea's pillows as pillows, but it's somewhat close to that.

So, it was with great reluctance that I reached out for the buzzing pendant around my neck and threw it into the corner, hoping that someone would find it and take it someplace far away. Hopefully, Shirou would just put it inside the Man-Ca– I mean the _Forge_ yes – and I could just snatch it back without much hassle. Although, that option was taken out of my hands when the pendant morphed into a portal and spat out two figures that I was vaguely familiar with. Ah, let's see here...scrawny kid and _really_ large redhead...this must be Alpha's friends. Waver and Alexander, isn't it? "Yo."

"Miss, you don't just say that while getting out of your bed naked." Alex said with a half-lidded gaze as he closed his eyes and sighed. "...However, if you're the one currently greeting us here, then it means you are this individual called 'Zulu', is it not?" I nodded with a yawn, and Alex's eyes bugged out as he turned towards Waver. "Boy! It seems like Enki hasn't been lying, after all! Congratulations on being the first human to legally enter the Reverse Side of the World!"

Waver was choking, however. Must be the mana density in the air. "Sensei, is there something wrong in there!?"

"Just some guests!" I hollered back, "Give them a tour, Shirou! I'm counting on you for this!" A second passed before I realized what I was doing and immediately began damage control. "...And don't show your blades to anyone."

"Just who do you take me for, Sensei...?" Came the deadpan from the other side of the door as I turned back towards the two guests that Alpha chucked into here.

"Why don't you two go on a tour for now? I'm still sleepy, while I'm sure Shirou could answer most of your questions." I yawned, waving the two away as I turned back to sleep...only to find Frea's silver eyes looking at me with an irate expression on her face. "What?"

"You have work to do."

"Why?"

"...You disturbed my sleep."

"Are you some kind of animal or something...?"

/-/

"I can't believe that Enki just let us explore the area on our own", Waver said with furrowed brows. "I mean...this is the Reverse Side of the World, you know? Where all the dragons are at."

"Yo, Fafnir", their guide said, waving over a small-sized Western dragon with black scales and green eyes, "You just got away from the two Jeannes?" The dragon squawked at something, and Shirou turned towards Waver and Alexander. "Oh, them? They're Sensei's guests for the time being." The dragon narrowed its eyes at them and squawked once again. Waver felt like the dragon was actually chatting with their guide. "I...don't really know. Do you know about _anything_ that goes inside Sensei's mind?" The dragon lowered its head and grumbled, to which Shirou patted it with a smile on his face. "Well, I think that he'd...no, she'd do it if you just asked."

The dragon regained its earlier vigor and squawked once again, flying off towards the distance with just a single flap of its wings. Shirou smiled and waved at the flying dragon, then turned back towards his two charges. "Anyways, that was Fafnir, the dragon from the Niebelungenlied. Don't say this to anyone, but he's the unofficial mascot of the household."

"Oho? Do tell me more", Alexander said, a wide grin on his face while Shirou recounted the various tales of the household. Waver could only palm his head and sigh. Not even a single day has passed in here, and he already wanted out.

/Clone Alpha/

With the Grail destroyed, I could heave a tired sigh and ponder upon the end of my existence. The original had just named me as a stand-in for the Fourth Grail War...so there was no point in sticking around any further. Although, I do hope that Zulu doesn't adopt the pair. Waver and Alexander are one of a kind, so it would be better if they were here on the Surface to do what they were supposed to do.

And so, with a sigh and a thin smile, I winked out of existence.

...Although, why am I not dead yet? "That would be my doing." I blink, finding myself in a vast expanse of empty space, currently facing Alaya. "You know", she said after a second of silence, and I could see that there was a twitch in her left eye, "This situation is ironic."

"Tell me about it", I said, my eye twitching as well while I tried to hide a wince. "So, what am I supposed to do now? I was supposed to be reintegrated into the original _after_ I died, but...obviously, something went wrong if I'm standing right in front of you. Was I supposed to become a Heroic Spirit after all I've done?"

"Well...yes and no, so to speak", Alaya replied, her emotionless tone giving nothing away. "While yes, you _have_ earned the right to become a Heroic Spirit, being a clone of the real thing doesn't necessarily mean that the original's efforts had made him worthy of the Throne. Additionally, he hasn't died yet." I swore I could've heard her 'tsk', but I just gave her the benefit of the doubt that I was a little...fuzzy, due to my 'death'. "...So, I'm here to offer you a deal, Alpha. A chance for you to live once again, no strings attached."

My eyes narrowed at Alaya's wording, and she simply raised an eyebrow at me, "...Do you really think me to be such a fool that I would purposefully anger you?" She asked with a raised brow, and I sighed. Nodding at her terms. "Wonderful", she said, a thin smile on her face that spellbound me for an instant before she reverted back towards her neutral expression. "I hope you have a wonderful journey."

Before I could even reply, I felt my body being lifted up by some unknown force, before I felt myself withering away to dust. My mind reached out to Alaya, and the connection disappeared after a single second. Time passed, and with full consciousness I was able to keep track of my body moving across time and space, before reforming itself into a platform, a contract of servitude being placed upon my soul. Somehow, this process seems familiar...

The moment I open my eye, I appear in a whitewashed place, the remnants of a summoning circle fading away behind me. Two people stand in front of me, both wearing wide smiles on their faces with Command Seals on their hands. I blink. Then I blink again. If this is what Alaya would consider as a joke...then I think I can get the reason as to how EMIYA broke. "Servant, Ruler, summoned. So, you two are my Masters, huh?" The line comes out naturally, as if I had never been put in under any compulsion, but I knew better. "You guys better save up your remaining luck now, since you just summoned the Divine Spirit Enki."

""E-Enki...?""

The two other voices echoed amongst one another, and I immediately widened my eyes and looked up, seeing two figures that could very may well be twins, if it wasn't for their differing hair color. One figure had a hair of raven black, while the other had hair of burning wheat, and I found myself getting confused by their stares until I caught sight of their magical signatures. In an instant, a snarl escaped my lips, and I straightened up in an instant, my gun pointed towards the figure with the head of black hair.

"Wait, wait! Calm down!"

I heard some voices seeking me to see reason, but all I could think about now was the many different ways in which I wanted to pull the trigger. Slowly, _painfully,_ I let out a long sigh, my shoulders loosening ever-so slightly, but my gun was still trained on her person.

"It's been a long time...Ishtar."

Damn Alaya. Just...just damn her to hell.


	35. On Questioning, Tasks, and Babysitting

/Clone Alpha/

"...To think that the random guy who helped us out during the French Singularity was actually a Divine Spirit..." The girl's eyes were wide, while I simply kept sipping my tea. Considering that it was brewed by Shirou (although, _this_ one was a different version of himself that never actually... _did_ , such things with his sword, so he's alright in my book), it was enough to make me forget about the bad mood that I had. For the moment, anyway; I'm pretty sure that there would be an irate Divine Spirit roaming around the halls of Chaldea if someone didn't get his daily brew of calming tea. "Thank you for your help back then!"

"Uh..." I couldn't help but scratch my cheek at that. "In all seriousness, the only reason I was there was because I was rounding up the dragons that escaped from the Reverse Side of the World. And that Jeanne just went along for the ride when she tried to hold onto Fafnir. She's doing fine, by the way", I added as an afterthought, "Currently, she's spending some bonding time with her twin sister and her pet...I think. You could never tell with her."

"Ah...I see. So, Enki-san, you live in the Reverse Side of the World, then?" The girl asked me with curious eyes, and I couldn't help but smile at her. Seriously, she reminds me of Shirou every time she does that. Minus the weird fetish for blades, of course. But I do think that the fetish had something to do with my training.

"Well, where else could I go?" I asked with a shrug, "I made a few visits to Eresh in Irkalla from time to time, but my wife doesn't really like the thought of me spending time with another woman, so she banned me from doing so. Plus, all the gods had already left by the time that Uruk had fallen anyway, so I couldn't just catch up to them. The other pantheons are...well, let's just say that they're as politically unstable as a house of cards, and we'll leave it at that." I finished up my tea, and placed it down on the saucer with a small tinkle. "To summarize, I was stuck in the Reverse Side of the World with nothing to do because there was no other choice for me. Actually, I'd rather like to thank you for pulling me out of that boredom-induced hell."

"Okay...?"

"...You'd understand if you actually went there. Sadly, no humans allowed", I said with a forlorn sigh, before glancing towards the Counter Guardian with a smirk, "But, there are also some particularly stubborn people that force their way in. They drop by from time-to-time, but nothing more permanent. I do think that Gaia doesn't want any more guests in the household already."

"Household...?"

I nod. "There's me, an Elf, the apprentice to the First Magic, two bona-fide Heroic Spirits, a member of the Transcendental Kind, along with the two incarnations of the Counter Force living under one roof. Somehow, the whole world hasn't been destroyed yet, so its apparently a beneficial deal for them."

"...Just how is that household of yours still standing?"

"That, girl, is one of the most vaunted mysteries in the history of mankind." I ended in a sage-like note, "...Actually, it'd be pretty dehumanizing of me if I just called you by that. What's your name?"

"Ritsuka. Ritsuka Fujimaru, but everyone here calls me 'Gudako'."

"Nice to meet you then, Ritsuka. My name's Enki, but everyone I meet usually call me 'Bree'." Confusion fluttered through her eyes, and I motioned for her to get closer so I can whisper the reason as to why, "...You see, it was my name before I became a Divine Spirit." Her eyes widened, and I gave her a smirk. "Yes. Apotheosis. It's actually possible, but requires a high amount of faith. Like, think of the prerequisites in being a Heroic Spirit. Now take that, and crank it up to eleven."

"How'd you even do it?"

"Now _that's_ a secret for another time", I winked at her, feeling all of the negative emotions that I had back in the summoning chamber were now kept at a minimum. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll go and explore this place by myself. It's all part of the fun, after all." Giving her a simple wave, I shifted my position towards the back of the room, where a particular figure was currently hiding in the alcove.

"...What are you doing here?"

"Making sure that you don't make too much of a fuss here." Frea replied, her grumbling clearly heard by me, "Alaya informed me of the situation, and it was decided that I'll...go with you for a time, until the original comes back or you actually die as a Servant." She snapped her fingers, and she quickly morphed into a four-inch version of herself, with all of the adorable expressions and all. "Since I'm sure that you're going to annoy the heck out of me anyway, I'll make sure that you get annoyed first. Remember that video game that you brought back where the fairy was an annoying brat? I'll act like that."

After she said her piece, the mini-Frea-but-actually-real-Frea zipped around before landing on my shoulder, her weight barely registering as a feather. Now, I do think that she must've used some kind of Mystery to keep her weight down in that way...but I learned from the amount of spatial ruptures that I never talked to her about it. "Hey, listen!" She screamed directly right into my ear, and I couldn't help but wince while I covered my ear from the sudden noise. So referencing the source material wasn't the main norm, but _actual_ copyright infringement? Ah, right. She's part-Elf. Phantasmal Species work on different frames of mind than ordinary humans.

Just for clarification's sake, so am I.

In any case, since I couldn't shake Frea off even if I wanted to, I simply resigned myself to whatever I was doing and made my way out of the room. Only to find myself facing Ritsuka's fraternal twin...or something like that. In any case, he had black hair and blue eyes, and was accompanied by what looked like a high school girl with purple hair and thin-frame glasses. "Right. Bree...right?"

"That's me."

"Can you follow us for a bit? We still need to test your parameters and the like."

"Then do lead the way, please", I said, completely ignoring the curious looks that they sent at Frea, the latter of which was still trying to annoy the hell out of me. I've been through enough bullshit to simply ignore this, after all.

/Clone Zulu/

I paused, staring at the empty seat on the dining table as my gaze moved across the room. "...Wait a minute, where's Frea?"

"She's doing an errand of ours", Gaia replied not a moment too soon before stuffing her face with Shirou's food. I turned towards Alaya and raised a brow. It wasn't everyday that they could simply agree on something; it would usually take something like an entire continent being wiped off the face of the earth before they would even agree on something.

"...Just what errand are you making her do?"

"Babysitting another version of you", Alaya replied in her usual blank tone, making me hum as I closed my eyes and thought about the situation. After a few seconds, I hummed and opened my eyes once again, meeting both Gaia and Alaya's gaze with a thin smile on my face.

"Yeah, she seems perfect for the job."


	36. On Deadpans, Pranks, and Half-Siblings

/~/

The male twin of the Fujimura's simply stared in awe at the destruction that the newly-summoned Servant had caused. He should've known that he was on par– if not greater – with Quetzalcoatl, who had been summoned without using another person as a Vessel. And considering that he was one of the most powerful gods in the Mesopotamian pantheon, along with holding providence over water and was _also_ the creator of Mankind, then Gudao _really_ should've expected that Enki was overpoweringly broken.

"And that's the gun", the newly-summoned Ruler-class Servant stated, twirling his gun once before holstering it in a single move. He made it look so easy. "…Also, the output was far lower than expected. So this is what you get when you're summoned in a Class container, huh…? Just sad."

Gudao simply smiled, not even mentioning the fact that the gun responsible for fifteen breached walls in Chaldea was _not even in its strongest form, nor was even a Noble Phantasm_. Instead, he simply ticked off another box in his checklist, and proceeded with the events as if nothing had happened. "Alright, now that it's done, can you show us your Noble Phantasm, please?"

"Huh?" Enki replied, his face laced with genuine confusion as he raised a brow at Gudao. "Shouldn't you be able to access them easily? I mean, you're a Master, so you could just easily see through my stats, right?"

"Well…" Gudao had already tried before, but he had done so just after summoning, so having most of his prana drained might have some effects on his vision. Focusing his newly-recovered prana through his body, he searched out the link towards Enki…and started reading him.

 _Class: Ruler_

 _True Name: Enki (Bree)_

 _Master/s: Ritsuka Fujimaru_

 _Strength: B_

 _Agility: A+_

 _Mana: A++_

 _Endurance: A_

 _Luck: D-_

 _Noble Phantasm: ?_

 _Class Skills:_

 _Whispers from the Root (A+)_

 _Magic Resistance (EX)_

 _Personal Skills:_

 _Sorcerer of the First [B-] (EX)_

 _Divinity (EX)_

 _Eye of the Mind [True] [B-] (A+)_

 _Mystic Eyes of Concept Manipulation [C-] (B+)_

 _Fire-Forged Bonds [1/10] (A++)_

 _Noble Phantasm/s:_

 _Fryltir, the Strike of an Infinite Cuts [C-] (B+)_

 _Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm_

 _Maximum Range: 1-10_

 _Maximum Target/s: 1-2_

 _Strikes the enemy and places a curse, allowing the user to compile data from parallel universes wherein the curse was also placed. Said compiled data is then altered to affect the current target, thus granting an 'infinite' amount of curses placed throughout the target's body. It usually results in instant death._

 _[?]_

 _[?]_

 _[?]_

"Well, there _are_ some skills that I can't seem to read as of the moment, along with your stat in Noble Phantasms", Gudao pursed his lips, thinking of a familiar Servant with the same parameter for their Noble Phantasm. Could Enki possess a Reality Marble…or at least, a stronger derivative of one? But his current Noble Phantasm is an Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm unlike an Anti-Army one that Reality Marbles usually have…does the skill [Fire-Forged Bonds] have something to do with it? "But as for the rest, I do think that they're fine."

Needless to say, he wasn't going to comment on what [Sorcerer of the First] meant. He was going to stay tight-lipped about it, and so would his twin sister. If news got out…then it would be a bloodbath at the Association. "But, I do have a single question", Gudao asked, and upon a quirk of Enki's brow, he did so, "What does your [Fire-Forged Bonds] do?"

Enki hummed, raising a hand to his chin as his singular amethyst eye narrowed, before glancing towards Gudao in the process. "Permission to speak my own mind?" He asked, and Gudao nodded. "Well to be honest, I'm still a little bit suspicious about this whole 'saving Humanity from the Singularities' plot that you have going on here. I might change my mind the longer I stay here, but for now I'm still watching everything with a close eye."

Gudao sighed. At least he knows what the skill was supposed to do. If Enki was voluntarily withholding his power until Chaldea manages to prove themselves, then he needed to make sure that Enki would always be on the front lines. To see what they were currently fighting for.

"…Well, to be honest, I would do the same thing if I were in your position", he simply replied, making Enki smile as the Divine Spirit turned towards Gudao with a shine in his ethereal amethyst eye.

"I do think that this would be the start of a productive relationship, Master."

/~/

"Let me kill him."

"Saber, you can't."

EMIYA sighed, struggling in vain as he was dragged alongside the King of Knights in her rampage through Chaldea. It would seem like the Divine Spirit was at it again, making things worse for everybody in the long run. To actually put laxative into Arturia's meal…if Enki hadn't been anything less but a Divine Spirit, then he would surely have been eliminated the moment that he had suggested the idea.

But he kept said prank to himself, and thus no one could immediately murder him due to the cause of lacking a few brain cells. Breakfast came and went, with Enki floating outside of the walls and snickering at the current scenario, and most of them hadn't paid any mind to the Divine Spirit…that was, until the King of Knights had noticed that someone had snuck a laxative in her food. _Spiritual_ laxative.

In all honesty, the Counter Guardian wanted to kill Enki as well. No one tampered with his meals and got out of it alive. And if Gudao had told him that the Divine Spirit might possibly have a Reality Marble as well? Then he would see which one of them had the better soulscape.

"Archer, you of all people must know on how despicable that fiend's actions are", Arturia said, immediately whirling around and affixing him with a stern glare. It was a glare that reminded him of his past life, back when he was nothing more than a young man caught up in an event that was completely beyond him. "Laxatives are the enemy. We need to find that…that _bastard_ and lop off his head."

He sighed, releasing an exasperated sigh as he continued on following her along, to make sure that she didn't accidentally murder anyone. Truly, he was having mixed feelings about this. Not only did the Divine Spirit actually sneak into his room just when he was about to sleep, but actually force-fed him some memories of an Emiya Shirou that had been averted from his terrible fate.

…No, one could say that the visage of Emiya Shirou that his memories were currently affixed on was _not_ the Emiya Shirou that he had known. The boy in front of him…he wasn't aiming to be a [Hero of Justice]. No, what this Emiya Shirou– no, what this _Masamune_ Shirou was doing was aiming to be a [Blacksmith that Surpasses the Gods]. And considering that said version of himself was currently apprenticing under _Enki_ of all people…

Truly, he didn't know as to whether or not to despise or thank the Divine Spirit.

It was just that he had many harrowing events in regards to Divine Spirits themselves. He had nearly blown-up when Ishtar and Ereshkigal were summoned, taking the body of his most trusted friend (lover? His girlfriend's sister?) in the process. Only by Gudako's Command Seal had he been able to calm down and see reason. And it was only after a long time that he had begun accepting their presences here in Chaldea.

But Enki…he hadn't had an ounce of idea as to what he actually is, but Arturia referred to him as the second coming of Merlin. A prankster that held a touch of viciousness, but one that never ultimately harmed, except for some of the pompous asses that had a stick up their asses (*cough*Gilgamesh*cough*Ozymandias*cough*) in Chaldea. And considering his heritage as Humanity's benefactor as well as the one that forged the sword that had plunged the world into a worldwide flood…

His face paled.

By the gods, he was facing another Ilya.


	37. On Enki's Stat Sheet

**Name:** Enki _(Bree)_

 **HP Values:** 2540 - 10910

 **Attack Values:** 2824 - 15692

 **Class:** Ruler

 **Deck:** QAAAB

 **Armaments:** Fryltir (Quick) Gugnir (Arts) Erestahl (Buster)

 **Ascension:** (No Ascension) Vest, Eyepatch. (1st) Cloak over left arm (Colored: black with gold highlights), Intricate eyepatch (Made out of various lenses that overlap with central eyehole). (2nd) Right arm replaced with a mechanical limb (Colored: gray, with black and gold highlights), Gugnir (Split into eight around self, constantly circling). (3rd) Cloak over left arm replaced with tattered scarf (Colored: green), Intricate eyepatch replaced with eyeglasses (Colored: dark blue), Enki (Split into twelve around self; eight constantly revolving around self, four standing behind self as if wings)

 **Statistics**

 **Stength:** B

 **Agility:** A++

 **Endurance:** A

 **Mana:** A++

 **Luck:** D

 **NP:**?

 **Hidden Statistics**

 **Star Weight:** 173

 **Star Generation:** 1.7%

 **NP Charge when Hit:** 1.2%

 **NP Charge Per Hit:** 1.72%

 _Hit Count_

 **Quick:** 3

 **Arts:** 6

 **Buster:** 1

 **Extra:** 3

 _Traits_

 **Divinity**

 **Star**

 **Man**

 **Servant**

 _Death Rate_

 _34.62%_

* * *

 **Personal Skills**

 **Eye of the Mind [True] (A+)**

 _As a result of living for a long time even before Mankind came into existence, Enki is a millennia-spanning individual with enough experience to have a mind as crafty as the original snake that led man away from the Christian God. Due to having been locked into the Reverse Side of the World for a long amount of time, the rank of this skill has been degraded._

Apply 1 Hit Evade to yourself. Increase star generation by 6.3% for 1 turn.

 **Sorcerer of the First (EX)**

 _Being the one that had ushered the development of humanity, he had given a lot of tasks for humanity to serve as a benchmark for their growth and development. In time, these benchmarks were known as 'Magic', and was eventually degraded down into 'True Magic' after millennia of quality decline. Being the one that had set humanity's development in the first place, Enki knows all of the current, completed, and future benchmarks that humanity must do in order to survive and succeed, thus allowing him complete access to all 'Magic'. The main reason why the Mage's Association hasn't found the First Sorcerer is due to this skill._

Boost self's Arts Card performance by 70% for 2 turns. Increase star generation by 1.3% for one turn.

 **Mystic Eyes of Concept Manipulation (B+)**

 _Mystics Eyes grafted onto Enki's own after defeating Mimir, a Primordial Demon that had appeared some time back. Due to the inherent incompatibility of Demon eyes in response to Divnity, the rank of this skill is lowered. Additionally, Enki can only use the effects of the eye for a short while before it starts degrading his soul, and so must take great care in timing this ability lest he take irreparable damage._

Gain 30% NP gauge. Defense down to selected enemy (27%) for 3 turns. Defense down to self (100%) after casting for 3 turns.

 _Class Skills (Passive)_

 **Whispers from the Root - A++**

 **Magic Resistance - EX**

 **Noble Phantasm**

 **Fryltir, The Strike of Infinite Cuts - B+**

 **Anti-Unit [Arts]**

 **Hits: 15**

 _Strikes the enemy and places a curse, allowing the user to compile data from parallel universes wherein the curse was also placed. Said compiled data is then altered to affect the current target, thus granting an 'infinite' amount of curses placed throughout the target's body. It usually results in instant death._

Deal (500-1250)% damage to targeted enemy. (12-34)% chance to Instant Kill. Overcharge reduces defenses of targeted enemy by (20-45)% for 2 turns.

Relationships to other Servants

 **Ishtar:** If encountered, initially flies into rage, and must use a Command Seal in order to forcibly calm him down for 24 hours. During that duration, ignores Ishtar's presence as if it was beneath him to recognize her.

[Interlude 3]: Now on speaking terms with Ishtar, but his tone is still cold when talking towards her. His words are curt, and he only speaks out of necessity, and nothing else.

"You killed her, right in front of my own eyes. I do think that your death was most definitely deserved by that point."

 **Ereshkigal:** Likes having small talk, due to their shared experiences in being trapped in a realm from which they cannot normally influence the Surface World. Affable, and sees her as a little sister.

"You just get that feeling that you want to protect her. Is it me, or is it something else? You feel the same thing too, Master? So I _wasn't_ hallucinating!"

 **Gilgamesh (Archer):** Trying to converse with him devolves into a fight between who can spew the most-damaging insults. He sees Gilgamesh as nothing more than a spoiled, immature brat that has too much power on his hands, and would not interact with him unless absolutely necessary.

"I shouldn't have made all those swords for Uruk, if you were going to do nothing but let them sit in your Treasury for all of time."

 **Gilgamesh (Caster):** Respects his dedication towards the protection of Uruk, and advises him like an equal. Quite on affable terms while off the job however, and could be seen drinking around with him in the dining area, all the while debating about Enkidu's gender.

"You know, I wish your counterpart would be more like you. Damn prick doesn't even realize that he has a stick up his ass…"

 **Enkidu:** Loves him like a son, but clearly regrets the fact that he hadn't specified the gender while making him. He also praises him for achieving autonomy, stating that he is quite proud of what he has become, gaining sentience and sapience instead of remaining as the Weapon of the Gods. Likes to treat him out to sweets sometimes.

"Ugh, I don't even know _what_ to call you. Should I just call you 'Enkidu' for the entire time? Or should I use 'he'? Or 'she'? At least help me out here…"

 **EMIYA (Archer):** Likes to play pranks with him, but clearly intends no harm. Praises his cooking, citing it as one of the few elements that EMIYA has hold over him. Acts like an old yet playful mentor to a student, and doesn't mind that Unlimited Blade Works could only copy an original blueprint of the weapon. In fact, he actually is _jealous_ of EMIYA's Tracing, seeing as how he only needed the appropriate prana to form a copy of the blade. Remarks that creating new concepts from scratch is too damn hard for him to do, since mankind is moving at a ridiculously fast pace at creating new [Concepts] that had far eclipsed his own.

"Must be nice to have all those copies stuck inside your head…Hey, would you mind if I borrow a few pieces of yours? I want to see if I can improve on them…Of course you can Trace them. Mutual exchange, remember?"

* * *

Personality

Enki is a Divine Spirit that looks like in his young 20s, with an affable personality and a penchant for pranking people. Nevertheless, he still cares for human society greatly, and thus willingly sealed himself off in the Reverse Side of the World when he understood that Humanity didn't want to be under the rule of the Gods.

He hides the loneliness of his isolation under a friendly and cheerful mask, and his bouts of vicious pranks are due to his jealousy getting a little better of him. He is mindful enough to know when his pranks had gone too far, and promptly apologizes to the affected party when he knows he is in the wrong. Enki has no sense of pride, saying that it only leads to one's downfall, and promptly throws it out the window while under combat.

In combat, he is utterly ruthless and devoid of emotion, seeing it as nothing more than a means to an end rather than the meaning itself. As the master of the very first Sorcery, he is more than prone to see others as just pieces on a board, and he very well hates himself for it when such thoughts seep into his daily activities.

Enki wants nothing more but to see humanity grow, and not to make the same mistakes that the Gods had done before. This goal pushed him to make a deal with both Alaya and Gaia, serving as both their agents in the Surface and Reverse World in order to protect it against outside forces. His presence could still be seen even in the world of Notes, but he had retired after being struck by a debilitating blow by ORT.

 _Attitude towards Master by Bond Levels_

*Note that [Fire-Forged Bonds] is determined by Bond Level with Master

 **Bond 1:** Enki considers the Master as a suspicious individual, seeing them as a collector of various Heroic Spirits throughout the ages in order to force them to serve for some kind of unknown purpose. The prospect of fighting in Singularities is enough to sate his curiosity for the moment however, but he still warns the Master about crossing his goodwill.

 **Bond 2:** Enki notices the other Servants' apprehension in fighting against the Singularities, and muses that maybe fighting Singularities has a greater purpose after all.

 **Bond 3:** After fighting a few Demon Pillars, he realizes the potential threat of leaving the Pillars to do their own devices. Enki then pledges to aid the Master, but promptly reminds him to make sure that he has nothing but good intentions in stopping the Singularities, or else…

 **Bond 5:** Enki trusts the Master enough that he is willing to tell snippets of his story, but not too much that the Master could figure out his goals. However, he still leaves enough hints for the Master to connect the pieces, and praises the Master for the first time, due to them not even cracking after all that they have been through.

 **[Interlude 1 - Babylonia]:** He encounters Gilgamesh (Caster), and smiles for the first time, muttering about "The brat finally learning his lesson." The Master asks what Enki means by that, but he simply deflects the question by saying that they have more important things to do.

 **[Interlude 2 - Babylonia]:** He encounters Ishtar, and quickly flies into a rage. The Master must spend the fight with Ishtar with Enki on the party, and for the duration of the fight he has the [Berserk] status, which has the chance of him attacking his allies. After the fight, the Master uses a Command Seal to snap Enki out of his rage, and forces him to answer her questions. Enki answers that he has a grudge against Ishtar for killing someone that he loves, and so must eliminate her. Another Command Seal is used to knock him out before he could cause more trouble. Enki is disabled as a party member for the rest of the Babylonia Singularity.

 **Bond 7:** As a symbol of trust, Enki lets the Master synchronizes with his memories, allowing them to see the various things that he had encountered throughout his journey. It ends when meeting an Elf on his way towards Uruk, and the synchronization ends while the Master asks the identity of said Elf. Enki dismisses the Master's questions, saying that the time for questioning was over.

[Interlude 3]: (Only plays after Bond 7) The Master pesters them about the identity of the Elf, and Enki finally relents by synchronizing them to the rest of his memories. It is here that the Master realizes that the Elf was Enki's lover, and that she was killed by Ishtar during the Fall of Uruk, thus cementing his grudge against the goddess of love and war. After the synchronization ends, he breaks down in tears and apologizes to the Master for his own inherent selfishness, almost costing their lives in a few various situations that could've been avoided if they were just a little bit more attentive. The Master comforts them, and Enki leaves their room with a wan yet genuine smile on his face, thanking them for his help. A minute after the door closes however, Enki pops back inside and warns the Master about spreading his moment of weakness throughout Chaldea with a completely serious look on his face. The Master laughs, and Enki's smile grows wider as they promise him that they wouldn't spread gossip about him.

(Unlocks Noble Phantasm - Ætheria: The Garden of Eden's Splendor, replacing Fryltir, The Strike of Infinite Cuts)

 **Æ** **theria: The Garden of Eden's Splendor**

 **Anti-World [Arts]**

 _Uses the power gained from both sides of the Counter Force in order to temporarily manifest his Domain upon an area surrounding him. It could be described as a Reality Marble, but not quite – a Reality Marble overwrites the World with their own soulscape, yet a Domain is able to create an entirely new World from scratch, the only limiting factor is their imagination. Thus, a Domain lets Enki manifest a World wherein he controls every single parameter of it consciously, thus enabling him to gain access to the Root for a short duration. Using this, he is able to gather an immense amount of power for a short duration to end the enemy…but for the price of extremely weakening his physical body to the point that he could barely move._

Upon activation, automatically fills up Ally Servants' NP to (100-225)% for 3 turns (disregards self). Residual NP gained before the activation of the Noble Phantasm is converted into Overcharge. Overcharge of Noble Phantasm decreases enemy's defense by (20-55)% for 3 turns. After 3 turns, reduce HP of self to 1, stun self for 3 turns, and reduce self's defense by 150% for 3 turns.

* * *

 **Playstyle:**

Spam Arts Cards, activating Eye of the Mind [True] and Sorcerer of the First in order to buff up his damage and land him some crit stars for next turn. However, he is more or less played as a burst Arts Servant, given that most of his kit relies on consistent NP Overcharge activation with a high amount of Hit Counts. The crit stars are there as a fallback measure should Enki fail in obliterating the enemy, and Mystic Eyes of Concept Manipulation is a high-risk high-reward move that rewards players for finishing off the enemies quickly, and punishes them after the initial burst. Fryltir is an NP that is primarily Enki's damage tool, providing a defense debuff onto enemies with its Overcharge and an ability to 1HKO. Before [Interlude 3], mainly play him for challenge runs/boss fights, since his single-target mentality allows him to quickly run challenges/bosses quickly. Know when to use Mystic Eyes of Concept Manipulation however, since it might be the key to victory.

After [Interlude 3], Enki gives away some of his soloing potential in order to buff the team even more. Once again, timing is key with his new NP Ætheria, since while spamming it at the beginning of challenge runs/boss fights would allow the rest of the team to mop up (free NPs for everyone, woohoo!) the rest, it also leaves Enki at a very precarious position wherein he could do nothing for 3 turns, along with almost getting 1HKO'd by anyone else until he gets his HP back up. Since he has no skills to regain HP, Ætheria is highly recommended to be used at the ending stages of a fight. While Mystic Eyes of Concept Perception would most likely bring Enki down to low health if one doesn't play him correctly, using Ætheria haphazardly would immediately spell his death…along with the rest of the team. Once again, timing is important in using Mystic Eyes of Concept Perception along with Ætheria, since the two's combination would result in _really_ high burst damage for the rest of the party, but would immediately reduce his durability after the duration ends. Therefore after [Interlude 3], Enki takes on a more supportive role, but could carry himself while just using Eye of the Mind [True] and Sorcerer of the First, nonetheless. However, his new build after [Interlude 3] allow him to sync very well with other party members that rely on their own NPs as well, leading to ridiculous combinations that – with proper practice – make challenge runs/boss fights a breeze.

For the party before Enki reaches [Interlude 3], he is pretty much self-sustaining, but members with heals or ATK up buffs would make his damage potential higher. Additionally, one can just simply use the Waver/Kaleidoscope tactic to just steamroll over challenge runs/boss fights, but doing so would severely limit his ability to farm, and therefore gain Bond Points required to reach Bond level 7.

After [Interlude 3] however, Enki now requires more thought in team comps to play. For a farming run, one could simply use Kaleidoscope and Mystic Eyes of Concept Manipulation in order to immediately activate his NP, and use the two adds in order to mow down the waves. It _might_ be a good tactic for the beginning, but since most of the farming later in the game might take a while, it also leaves Bree incredibly weak to attack. Thus, an ideal team comp in the late game would have Bree in the back line, supported by a tank that could provide heals/evade/guts/invulnerability towards Enki to keep him from turning into mush, with an NP-spam champ like…almost every Knight-class Servants.

Summary of Enki before [Interlude 3]: Good soloer with trump card of a skill, and ridiculously fast NP gain. No heals, though, so good luck with 1HKOs, since his Death Rate's pretty high.

Summary of Enki after [Interlude 3]: Needs team in order to buff properly, but _very_ good addition once you get the hang of it. Wimpy after he blows his load, though, but I'm pretty sure that Unlimited Excaliblasts is as awesome as it sound on paper.

 **AN: The moment where you just created a new Servant based on an OC, and did a comprehensive guide about them…This level of dedication.**


	38. On Mail, Switching, and Demands

/Clone Zulu/

It feels good to have my old body back. You know, the one with the present parts and all. But apparently, Fate wanted to throw another fastball at me, since currently Alaya was giving me the details of the deal that the stupid Alpha made. I mean sure, it was...nice? (heartwarming? I don't really know) to see Alpha accepting a deal to solidify his existence in the World, but to be chucked back to being a _Servant,_ of all things? Yeesh, talk about a nerf. "And that it all."

"So that stupid clone- I mean _Enki_ ", I corrected, watching Alaya's eyes narrow, "Was summoned to this Chaldea place you speak of as a Ruler-class. Which deals less damage to the Beasts that are supposed to destroy the Human Order." As Alaya nodded and her blue hair swayed alongside her, I couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "...Alaya, were you high when you made this?"

"He will borrow the power of the Counter Force should he come face-to-face with those... _things._ " She frowned as she stared at the cup of tea that Shirou had brewed for her, and I couldn't help but snort at that. True, the Counter Force was one to be reckoned with, but all that raw power isn't going to necesarrily make up for the amount of finesse that Alpha lost when he became the Heroic Spirit ENKI. "Additionally, I have sent Frea to help in from time to time."

My eye twitched. So _that's_ the reason why I haven't seen her around lately. "I was wondering as to how you even managed to convince her to go with even one of your zany schemes, and at this point, I am too afraid to ask." I sigh, my tired orbs finding Shirou who was in the middle of cleaning his blade. "Brat", I said, calling his attention as the redhead perked up, "Don't do that in the dining table. it's disrespectful manners." Shirou immediately put away the blade and grumbled to himself, by which I replied with a smile on my face. "So, did we get any mail?"

"We have mail?"

"It's a _house_. Of _course_ we have mail", I replied, rolling my eyes at my apprentice's apparent naivety. Really, he should've noticed this by now. No apprentice of mine should be completely unaware of his surroundings. "...That's it. You'll be doing the mail for at least a _year_ after today."

"Sensei, is it alright if I turn the mailbox into a sword?"

"I meant checking the mail, Shirou. I said you'd be checking the mail for a year after this." I sighed. Alas, it seems that my apprentice in the absolute heights of puberty. Truly, if it weren't for me guiding him back into the path of morals, he would've been lost a long time ago. "In any case, I'll check it now."

With a simple shift, I stood outside the house, reaching inside the mail (or 'suggestion box', as Frea would like to put it) and blinking in surprise. One, two, three seconds later, I check into the box again, and could barely contain my suspicions at the single piece of bark inside. Gingerly, I reach out towards it, noting the crispness of the paper, and unfurled it with a single hand as I looked at the text within. It was written in elegant prose, and the handwriting itself was carved into the wood. I don't know _how_ they managed to do that on a paper-thin sheet of wood and _still_ be recognizable by their recipient, but I'm willing to bet that they were just simply showing off.

Then I began to read the writing, and I could only frown a second later as it burst into flames.

The original...the original needs to know.

/Original/

"... _What?_ " I snarled, consciously trying to keep my grip from crushing the pendant to pieces. Zulu had contacted me about something, and given the serious expression on his face, I knew right then that it _was not pretty_. "Did I just hear you correctly?"

"Yes." Zulu said, his tone blank of any emotion, but his amethyst eye stared at me with a fire burning behind his eyes. As should be. Since clones are simply recreations of the original, then it should stand to reason that Zulu should be doing the same thing as well. "Apparently, now that their 'vaunted daughter' is alive again, they're forcing us to give her back. Lest they revolt."

"Did you talk to Gaia about this?"

"She said to do whatever you want, but make sure that no Elves would be killed." Zulu narrowed his eyes, a snarl escaping his lips. Fury welled up inside me as well, but I learned to control it and push it through my body. Fighting Angra Mainyu while shouting curses at him would well...You get the idea. "I swear, if it weren't for that, I would've leveled their place to the ground."

"How are the others?"

"They noticed that something's wrong, but they aren't too keen on asking me about it yet." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his eye while slumping his shoulders forward. "It's probably been a week...It's not long till the facade holds." The clone was sullen, his singular eye going through various shades of emotions that I immediately understood. "Alaya sent her out to Alpha- no, Heroic Spirit Enki - some time back, and so she wouldn't be coming back home for the foreseeable future. Cabin fever. You know what it does."

"It bites us in the ass, yes."

"Damn those Elves", Zulu snarled, his eye quickly shifting into a vibrant gold before flickering back into its original color. I was sorely tempted to switch places with him, knowing that I could've handled the situation better...but nothing else. There was absolutely no reason for me to continue on ignoring this. Angra Mainyu was already defeated some time back, and I've just been mooching off the loot since then. Now however... "Original, I...I can't exactly take this much longer."

"Switch, or decommission?"

Confusion went through Zulu's eye, before they gleamed and hardened in understanding. "Decommission." He said, his tone set, "I do think it'll make you a lot less strained considering that Alpha is now a separate entity under the Throne, and I'm the only one that's actually using up the pool."

"Got it." I snapped my fingers, and Zulu winked out of existence, the pool of prana that I held (and was continuously growing larger) was changed to once again having a single recipient. I heaved a long sigh, feeling the tingles running through my body, and quickly tossed the pendant towards the space in front of me, watching it shift and turn into the inside of a familiar shack.

If those selfish assholes wanted their Queen back...then they better be prepared for a war.

/~/

"Sen...sei?"

This was weird. After Zulu-sensei suddenly disappeared, another portal sprung up and another Sensei came in. I recognized him as the original Sensei, since Sensei had trained me to differentiate between the different clones in a 'just in case' scenario. Judging by the stormy expression on Sensei's face though, I'd like to see what would happen next. Rarely was Sensei ever pissed at something, but seeing as that single eye shone with murderous intent, I could only finish polishing Ergele and smile at him.

...For all his quirks and flaws,


	39. On Crafting, Farewells, and Stupidity

/~/

"How's our newly-summoned Divine Spirit doing?" Gudako asked, her voice slightly warped due to the distance involved in the holographic comms, but Gudao could hear his twin just fine. Turquoise eyes glanced towards the carnage occurring in front of him with a slightly-ill expression on his face, watching as the Heroic Spirit ENKI reaved through the various wyverns that were currently flocking towards their current position. Multiple copies of the blade holstered by his waist came to life, seeking out various targets by their own free will and impaling them with a kaleidoscopic edge.

"...Farming for more materials would be easier from now on", Gudao replied with a relieved smile and a nod. Truly, since there were so many materials required by Chaldea for its daily upkeep, some minor singularities are raided for supplies in order to furnish the growing base in Antarctica. Daily upkeep required various forays into areas with rich natural resources in order to the Chaldean staff to acquire raw materials like soil, rock, and water. Of course, given that these were _still_ Singularities, it meant that they would be expecting some kind of resistance...like wyverns.

"Thank you for your corpses", ENKI said in a borderline manic tone. "The amount of projects that I could do with this amount of scales...Heh, I might as well start my own forge back in Chaldea and supply the rest of the staff with god-tier equipment." He paused, before moving his gaze towards Gudao. "I mean, I _can_ do that, right?"

"You're the Sorcerer of the First. Why couldn't you just make them out of thin air?" The male Master replied, and ENKI frowned, his amethyst eye flashing through annoyance before settling back into its neutral hue.

"Remember Shirou's Tracing", he said, holding up a finger towards Gudao whilst killing the assembled wyverns with a flick of his fingers. The sound of rocks breaking through the sound barrier and shockwaves smashing against the ground filled the air, but Gudao had already learned to keep his ears trained even while in the midst of battle. "I do think that there was an Aria there that told something about replicating an object's history, or something like that... Well, the main point is that simply summoning an object using the First immediately locks it out from having a property known as 'history'. That's why the process of forging a Mystic Code or Noble Phantasm or what-have-you is _extremely_ important to its legend. There is already history being stored even _before_ the item is wielded, and so it makes it more powerful." He paused, as if remembering something important, and drop-kicked another wyvern while nodding in realization. "...Plus, don't you want to wear something that a Divine Spirit made?"

Gudao couldn't refute ENKI's idea. It sounded so sweet...and yet so tempting at the same time. It was like dealing with Mephisto, but without the constant assurance that he would take any chance in order to stab him in the back. "I'll consult Gudako about that."

"Oh, she'll immediately agree to it. _That_ , I'm sure of", ENKI said while crossing his arms and nodding seriously. From the other side of the holographic line, Gudako was gone, already presumed to have went towards the stocks of materials that Chaldea currently has, and Gudao could only heave a tired sigh. "Yeesh", the Divine Spirit commented, raising a brow at the empty comm line, "You'd think she was my apprentice whenever I told him to make a sword."

"How did you even know that she would do that?" Gudao asked with a blank tone, but ENKI simply replied with a raised brow. It only took him a second to regret his question, and immediately groaned in response to his stupidity. "Right, that [Whispers of the Root] skill of yours..." He perked up, with turquoise eyes locking onto the Servant with barely-restrained curiosity. "So, regarding that skill of yours-"

"-And _I'm_ going to stop you right there, Master", ENKI replied with a smirk, watching as Gudao's blissful expression paled. "If I gave you an answer to that, then that would technically be me handing out some cheat sheets for you guys to discover."

Right. Wielder of the First Magic. Hence the individual from which all of mankind's benchmarks had come from. Fire, tools, society, technology, medicine, science...the ability to cross towards another world...Gudao's eyes shone with determination, and a small grin formed on his face as he looked at the Divine Spirit. "So, you mean that it's a Sorcery?"

ENKI didn't reply. Which was more of an answer, really. But what was he supposed to do? He was stuck in a Catch-22 situation, for Pete's sake!

/Original/

"Be careful."

"Really." I deadpanned, watching as Gaia's smile turn a bit more feral in the process. With a sigh, I summoned a blade in my left hand and held it against my shoulder, as if it were my luggage that I was going to be lugging along for the ride. "So you wouldn't mind if I accidentally send some poor schmucks into the Root?"

"Well, I said _not_ to kill them." Gaia said, raising a finely-kept brow, "...Did I say anything about a fate that would be _worse_ than death?" I snorted, and Gaia's smile grew even wider. Even Alaya looked weirded out and took a few steps away from her (technical) mother. And I'll just ignore the fact that Shirou's currently hiding from Gaia's sight by using me as a meat shield. Go on, nothing to see here. Why don't _you_ get your own bat-shit crazy apprentice _before_ we'll compare notes?

Still, it felt pretty good to know that the embodiment of nature has my back on this. I guess Frea's...habits soon rubbed off on her, for the better. I mean, don't get me wrong - she's annoying, snarky, and pretty much bosses me around and has no definition of 'fun', but there was a reason as to why I married her in the first place. And it wasn't because she literally marched up to me _right in the middle of her own botched wedding_ and took me in right then and there. No, it wasn't like that...Well, I mean, not like _that_ at the moment, but I have another reason as to why I'm currently doing this.

And if I were to be honest with myself, it all boiled down to my own selfishness. Frea was taken away in front of my very eyes once, and there was nothing I can do but watch. Now...even if I have to torch the whole 'Enclave' that the Elves built from the ground up, I'll gladly do so if I could just hear Frea's voice chewing me out again for missing out on some administrative work.

...That sounded wrong. "Sensei, are we ready to go, yet?"

Ah, right. Shirou. My apprentice that wanted to become a Hero of Justice is now fighting to preserve Frea's [Choice]. Truly, was it just me or is the person known as [Shirou] bound to have a one-track mind? "Just let me say my goodbyes to this place first, brat", I snarked, wanting to keep the good mood going for a longer while. "We're fighting a whole Empire of Phantasmal Beasts that are more experienced and more powerful than you. So start thinking." Shirou grumbled, but I let out a soft sigh and patted him on the head. I'm not jealous that he's already reached my height. Not at all. It wasn't as if he had just turned 20 last week and he's still growing, after all. Not that.

Damn hormones...couldn't even give me enough of a height boost without forcing me into puberty again...

I glanced towards the horizon, and I found different standards from different castes marching along to the sound of war drums, the low bass notes of the drums echoing throughout the battlefield. We were surrounded. Twelve families, from twelve different lineages banded together in order to retake their Queen, and they would not hesitate to use force if I wasn't willing to give into their demands. But that was fine. Since the moment that they had crossed through the golden fields of wheat that I maintained at an even height all around the shack, they were already dead.

A sadistic glint formed in my eye. After all, what kind of idiotic moron would just stumble around an unknown magus' atelier _head-on_?

...Apparently, said idiotic morons are called 'Elves'.


	40. On Alaya's History (I)

/~/

They think of me as a monster. One made of logic. One that weighs the two sides of a scale, and chooses the one which produces more benefits. It is the logic that Counter Guardian EMIYA has convinced himself, and he is technically correct all but on one point. Never once had he believed that I was capable of sympathy.

Did I think him of a fool for thinking that? No. I knew that he had needed a crutch to continue on his duties, and even then I could only watch from the sidelines while he loathed himself even further. Did he think that I couldn't sympathize? No. I knew his pain. Being forced to live out a life that is not yours, only noticing the discrepancies right at the very end...it is a tragic tale for a Heroic Spirit, but one that I could admire nevertheless. The fact that he had coated his blades with rust however, his soul degrading into nothing more than a soulless sea of blades and lifeless gears...it was the time that I knew I had gone too far.

His abilities were a boon to the usual...wetwork that I needed for humanity's continued survival. The ability to Trace Noble Phantasms on a whim and replace them as long as he had enough sufficient mana; it made him the perfect Enforcer for the system that I currently upheld. But the strain broke him. Just as a Sword that is used repeatedly without maintenance would break, so did the individual known as [Emiya Shirou]. And so, I resolved myself to change my programming. To act outside the boundaries of my own making, and try to seek a more...non-conventional solution.

And so, I searched for my [Creator].

Weird, isn't it? The ripples that he had made on Gaia since time immemorial...it lead towards my creation. At that moment, in his righteous fury brought upon by a death of a loved one, as he poured all of his anger and hate into that world of **_death,_** another, more altruistic part of him became the seed in which I would base my very existence. The very fact that he believed in all of his heart that Divine Spirits could no longer play with the hearts of mortals meant that humanity would have no masters for which to decide their fate. They were on their own, now gifted with the massive burden of free will...and I was supposed to be its agent.

Truly, a twist of irony. The fact that [Creator] had approached Gaia...[Mother], with tears in his eyes and begging to be sealed in the Reverse Side of the World. He knew that the Age of Gods had come to an end with Uruk's fall, and thus reserved himself to a quiet life on a shack, surrounded by a grassy knoll of golden wheat...wasting away until the glue that held the pieces of his mind together finally broke.

As a spark, I lived within [Mother] for a time being whilst Humanity grew from its severely depopulated numbers. Sometimes, I awoke to find myself seated in the middle of that shack in the center of a grassy knoll, watching as [Mother] exchanged pleasantries with the [Creator]. Truly, was it so baffling that an alien existence like him would be able to associate with [Mother]'s pain? My primary logic circuits back then had decided that no, it was not so baffling. [Creator] was a Divine Spirit, one that originated from the depths of the Void from which all life is known to perish. Once upon their conversations, I had listened to the [Creator] outline the concept of [Divinity] towards [Mother], and I could also remember my first sympathetic circuits agreeing with the rage and temper that she had showed.

[Hypocrite]. A species that played [Creator] until their World died, and were forced to emigrate towards others. [Creator] had said before that luck had favored those who had died immediately, and my logic circuits understood why. Most of the Divine Spirits that had descended onto Gaia had tendencies which are both detrimental to their own selves and the reality around them. It was [Creator]'s duty to put them back into their place. To force them to reconsider the course of their actions. A reason as to why [Mother] had supported his train of thought, and created the very first Reality Marble. One that spanned the entirety of Gaia, and degraded all of those that dared to twist its laws.

Over time I became stronger. More defined. More complex. Powered by the hopes and dreams of humanity to live for another day. It was at this point that I recognized that there were some individuals that had managed to gain the power of [Faith] that Divine Spirits had used as a source of energy, and used it to inspire various existences throughout the World. [Mother], [Creator], and I had the same thought back then: these were dangerous beings, and they deserved to be quarantined as soon as possible. So [Creator] built the [Throne of Heroes], a prison for those so-called [Heroes], and [Mother] provided her own Grain to support the prison's continued existence. But soon after our collaborative project, [Creator] and [Mother] once again separated, with [Creator] returning back to his forge inside the Reverse Side of the World, and [Mother] administering judgment upon those who broke the laws of the World. I was still too juvenile to fully separate from [Mother] however, but I do think that she had begun to notice the subtle hints here and there.

Then, I had fully manifested once the Industrial Revolution had begun. Immediately, my existence posed a threat to [Mother]- no, _Gaia's_ natural order - she had personally went to [Creator]'s forge, and showed me towards him. Surprise bloomed on his face, before he stared at Gaia with an unnatural expression on his face. It was only now that I recognize that emotion as confusion. It took quite a few events to make [Creator] confused after all, and I was lucky to be one of those events.

He had suggested back then that Gaia leave me be. After all, he had reasoned, I was naught more but a babe, so it was Gaia's job to teach me her duties, as if I was to be the future heir. Soon, I had gotten into the work, judging those who broke the Veil to Akasha with Gaia, and letting those who uphold the balance with their actions and thoughts to obtain it and return. As for our existences were closely tied to Akasha itself, we knew the various wielders of its power. The Kaleidoscope was one. The [Blue] was another one. Finally, it would seem that [Creator] had been the earliest one to do so. After that, no one else had the legacy and will to do so.

Then, as Humanity's population bloomed across Gaia's surface, it was when the troubles had started. After all, deep in my very core, I was wished into existence by [Creator], with an ultimate goal to [ensure Humanity's survival]. When Humanity's actions lined up in opposition to Gaia's goals, I took their side and tried to dissuade conflict. Once, twice, thrice, I do not know, but for those amount of times Gaia had listened to my logic and let Humanity be on its merry way. But the World's patience does not last forever. And I knew that when the Plague had hit.

I confronted Gaia- no, _[Mother]_ \- over her actions, but she had decided that mankind's numbers were too big; too populous for them to coexist beside her creations without tipping the balance. It would seem that [Creator]'s gifts over the years had made humanity the dominant species on the [World], but his first gift - the gift of [Free Will] - allowed Humanity to turn towards its darker side, which only incensed Gaia even further. And so, wanting to keep the balance of the World intact while placating both Gaia and Humanity, I reached towards the [Throne of Heroes]...and made a bargain with one of the prisoners.

And that was how the first [Counter Guardian] came to be.


	41. On Alaya's History (II)

/~/

Of course, the short-term balance that I had made couldn't last long. It was in Gaia's laws that such things were to pass, and sadly only [Creator] has the essential [Weight] required for him to countermand such a prevalent fact of reality. Soon, she noticed the insertions of the [Contractees], and demanded to know as to why I had contracted with humanity's blight. I responded as truthfully as I can. For all of her faults, she was still [Mother] after all, one that had nursed my existence within her until I was ready to manifest.

But she hadn't listened to my reasoning. Nor the fact that I would still make sure that the [Heroes] would eventually get their come-uppance. Instead, she had stormed out of the shack, back into the [Core], and I had never heard from her in centuries. I had asked the [Creator] as to what was the problem, and he told me with a smile that it was because of [Emotion]. A Concept that I had not been able to fully understand, for my emotional circuits were...lacking. He had told me that it would be of no problem. A quick grafting of circuits would do the trick, and he had said that it wouldn't take a long while.

He was correct, and when I had run through the scenario through my mind once again...I was overwhelmed with a rush of conflicted results. I brought the data and information that I had collated, and the [Creator] laughed and told me that I shouldn't rely on his help whenever I was stuck in something called a rut. So, I was forced to analyze the contradictory data by myself, and figured a hypothesis that allowed for [Emotion] to overcome Gaia's laws.

[Emotion]...was a diluted form of [Faith]. Thus, its origins being from a power borne from Divine Spirits themselves, it was theoretically possible for such emotions to transcend Gaia's laws and allow all forms of life to reach complexity that has never been seen before. Now, I had another perspective to look at the World, one where logic ruled, and another one where emotion served as the key to fill in the gaps.

Then, Gaia had returned from the [Core] all so suddenly, with [Primate Murder] in tow. I had wanted to stop her. But what can I do against [Mother]? My emotional circuits had went into overdrive, and I had immediately turned towards the [Creator] in order to give me inspiration to solve the problem. But he hadn't replied. Instead, he left a note at the shack that told us he went travelling through the World once again. And so, desperate for a solution that had no end in sight, I allowed myself to further go into decadence, and use the [Contractees] in order to restrain Primate Murder. But not without casualties. Death came for Humanity in that time period, and Gaia had been left to manage the increased influx in the reincarnation cycle on her own, instead of sharing the burden with me. But Primate Murder cannot be allowed to be set free once more, and it was this final argument that had finally soured my relationship with [Mother]- no, _Gaia._

She had told me words. Words that had still cut deep into my emotional circuits, and left them irrepairably damaged until today. She had told me of the [Creator]'s blunt favoritism of me, who had wanted to uphold all human life above all else, and cursed my name until I only felt hate for her. Now, I had understood that she had simply done so out of repressed frustration, and had no way of knowing that I would be that affected. But the damage still existed, and the amount was enough for me to cease all active interventions and moved towards more covert options instead. Now, the main method of which I interact with the inhabitants of the Wold was through the [Contract], and threats towards Humanity's continued survival are dealt with by using the [Contractor]s. The situation was what humanity would call a 'vaccine'- using a pest in order to prepare the rest of the body in case the pest appears once again. My emotional circuits had been stunted and regressed back due to damage, and so the logic circuits had tried to compensate for the work. But the damage only allowed me to sympathize with others, and not empathize with them.

Truly, I was hopeless until the [Creator] had returned from his trip to the world. Once again, he was world-weary, tired of all the things that he had seen and wanted him to take a break. Doing so, I approached Gaia with the intent of helping the [Creator]. The first, second, third attempts were unsuccessful. But after time passed, I was able to convince her to do so. A vessel made from her body, their mind made from my spark. Shaped into a figure that had been the miracle that had moved the [Creator]'s heart. Gaia had considered calling it 'Frea 2.0', but I managed to make her drop the name and allowed the figure to hold the name of the original herself. It was a position that allowed both of us to bequeath our hopes on, and...it was a success.

[Creator] had been regaining what had been lost. Even if it was little by little. Bit by bit. Nanometer by nanometer. Slowly, surely, he would soon reach a time where he would act liked the [Creator] had once had, and not like the fake that was currently another one of my [Contractee]s. But then...it would seem that we had not been paying attention to worldly events. The Elves had seemed to have taken the news that their Queen was alive and well, and was now on its way to reclaim her. A [fake] based from the perceptions of Gaia and I. Surely, they could tell that the figure was a fake, her identity immediately discovered by those who proclaimed themself close to the figure in honesty and truth. And so, I had sent her out along with the [Fake], in order for her to avoid regaining memories that she didn't have.

Now, the day of reckoning had come, yet the [Creator] does not want to give her up. Truly, a selfish wish for a selfish person, but it was a facet of the [Creator] that we had grown to miss, and so welcomed the change with open arms. As of the moment, he and his [Heir] were faced with an enemy that outflanked them on all sides, with abilities and experiences that might be a match for his cunning. But still, he had never wavered, standing tall in front of the army sent to retrieve their Queen and never wasting a single breath. My logic circuits could already map out his potential trains of thought, but it was still hard to concentrate due to the sheer amount of information travelling through [Creator]'s head. The only thing I could do was watch as jade-green arrows rained down from the sky, and with a single snap of a finger, turned all of them into dust, easily blown by the wind.

The [Creator] now goes stronger as well, and from the main door to the shack, I shared a glance with Gaia. [Mother]. Sending her a slight nod that allowed us to share our inner thoughts. She had scowled, but still kept her eyes trained on the battlefield, where another snap of a finger rendered the army's shields pointless. Somehow, the [Creator] stood there, defending the one that he loved against an unceasing tide of enemies. Yet, guilt claws through my remaining emotional circuits. All filled with questions that start with 'when'.

When would the [Creator] notice that his Frea was a fake. When would the [Creator] realize that we were the ones responsible for the subterfuge. When would the [Creator] know that his Frea was long gone, lost to time as when Ishtar had shot his love with her arrows. When he would sink into the depths of insanity once again, and turned into a force more eldritch that the beings that lived outside the Root.

Somehow, my remaining emotional circuits blazed with an emotion that I couldn't place, but one I inferred based on Gaia's gaze at the [Creator] casually toying with the army that surrounded him as if he were a puppetmaster. Fear. Fear that he would found out that he had been a puppet all along, and would soon take his revenge.

It would be a secret that Gaia and I would take to the grave. If we have to. Anything but the [Creator]'s spark fading away once again.

Anything but Bree suffering once again...


	42. On Curbstomps, Prostration, and TV Sets

/Original/

They never stood a chance.

Weapons were shattered, laid in shards all around them, and their armor was gone and turned to a scrap heap behind me. The rest of the so-called 'army' had exhaustion written all over their faces, and most of them had their eyes wide open, staring at me in horror. I took a single step from my position, and sent about four platoons at a full retreat, all the while bombarding my current area with arrows and magic. Gouges were carved across the earth, and specks of dust flew into my eyes, but I simple kept on moving forward, causing more and more platoons to rout against my apparent invincibility. And it was correct. This grassy knoll was my Domain, however restrained it might be, and one does not simply face a Divine Spirit - no matter how degraded they might be - on their own territory.

Soon, I come to a stop. Amidst a quivering mess of an individual that was currently prostrated in front of me, with waste materials gathering by his feet. My apprentice looked disgusted, and I couldn't help but share the same exact sentiment. Truly, no matter what the time period is, Elves still find ways to irk me. "Gerrune Livingwood." My voice carried no inflection, but it sounded more like the toll of an evening bell. One that promised a sealed fate. "Father of Frea Livingwood. Acting Leader of the Elven Enclave. You have started an unprovoked attack against the Administrator of the Reverse Side of the World under the full view of both sides of the Counter Force."

"What say you?"

The figure kept silent. As the **_worm_** should be. Barely even a thought passed before I shifted the three of us back towards the shack, the living room cleansed of all furniture with nothing but an afterthought. Gaia and Alaya looked on, their glints of curiosity betraying the masks of blankness that they wore. Shirou stared at the Elf, his amber eyes as unyielding as the steel of his alternate selves. Good. This would make things easier than expected.

"You seek the Queen of the Elves, one that would lead your dying race to superiority once again?"

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Golden eyes stared up from underneath the figure, glaring at me with unconcealed hatred. For me or my kind. A scowl formed on the worm's face, and I allowed him this once chance to act like his standing.

Yet, he still sought to disappoint. " _You_. The bastard that took her away from us. The one that tempted the Queen with sweet nothings that allowed her heart to be manipulated to your whims. She died a puppet, never seeing the _monster_ lurking underneath the skin of those _apes_. Did you ever tell her that-"

"-Enough." The air cracked, and the **worm's** face slammed back into the ground, a whimper of pain coming out of his throat. My left eye twitched, the embodiment of conquered Divinity itching to make itself known once more, and I grabbed the **worm's** hair and yanked it upwards, making sure that its golden eyes met my own. The clicking of gears unsealed the eye that held the key to Akasha, and with it, I delved into the Root of All and saw everything.

And I found the worm in front of me... _ **wanting**_ _._

Space cracked, folded, and shattered in less than a second. The same way that she had taught me how to do such a thing. It spread across the **worm's** skin, coming through his clothing, his hair, his eyes...everything that made the _worm_ was cracked, and soon I reached into his mind and soul. Shimmers of ethereal light rose up around me, forming minute orbs that began hovering around the both of us, and with a simple mental order, sent them through the **worm's** head.

Less than a fraction of a second had passed, and Gerrune Livingwood's mind was shattered beyond all recognition.

My eye closed, the clacking of gears once again sealing up the eye of a Demon. I let out a harsh sigh, letting a wisp of a cloud form from my breath as I stood up and glanced once again towards the living room. Another thought sprung to mind, and all of the previous damage winked out of existence, and a fresh set of the living room was interspersed into reality. Amethyst orbs, glanced towards Gaia's silver eyes, Alaya's own blue, and my apprentice's amber, and I gave each of them a nod before moving towards the entrance. More out of a gesture than anything else.

"I'll be back."

And with that, I shifted once more, my vision now staring at a humongous tree filled to the brim with Elves aiming down at me with everything that they had got. A capital city like no other; one of the first seeds from the Surface that had found its way here. Elysium, they call it. Soon, it was going to be nothing more than a charred husk once I am done with it. Not to mention the structure inside the tree itself...

My eye shone with determination, as I took a step forward and was pelted with various projectiles of magic and physical objects, with traps of all mythologies springing to life, seeking for my life. But there is no use. They were nothing more than mere annoyances, but such things could cost me time. Time that I didn't have, and I was on a limit.

"[Seraphim, Set]."

/~/

"Where are the others?" I asked, and Alaya-kaa-san had replied that the two Jeannes and Fafnir were currently frolicking about in Avalon. Somehow, I could already see Fafnir's face frown at me, looking at me with an expression as to why I hadn't invited him to what was currently happening. "Well, I guess that it was something that Jeanne-san and Joan-san can't help but get involved it, so I do think that it was for the best." I kicked my feet, and I brought out Ergele from its sheath of a dimensional fold. I hadn't even swung it once before it was all over. "Still, Sensei was so cool, you know!" I raised my voice, my eyes shimmering with joy. "He just like ported us to like this desolate world or something, and the rest of the Elves began to flee!" Gaia-baa-san flinched, and I turned towards her with an earnest expression on my face, "...Baa-san, do you know what Sensei did?"

...Alright, alright. I have to admit that I'm currently flaying them for fools, but Sensei had ingrained those lessons into me since day one! It's not like I could just _ignore_ it after all, since Sensei told me that the best way in order to save people was to make sure that you do it without a single person noticing your involvement, but now I just do it unconsciously! Now I feel like a manipulative idiot. Damn it, Sensei... "I...might know a thing. And Shirou, I'm only two billion years old. Don't call me grandmother."

"But- Urk." I flinched, glancing away from Gaia-baa-san as she flared her eyes. It was always the silver eyes I tell you. Always so otherworldly and ethereal, giving me shivers every time baa-san does something like this...Ugh. I understand now, Sensei. Please forgive this pupil of yours for not knowing of your pain up until now. I swear I will use this experience to grow even stronger, and surpass you in the creation of...things, someday. "I got it..."

"Good." Baa-san stuck her nose up in the air, and I couldn't help but compare the action to a puppy. Well, I only thought of it inside my mind, since I'm sure that I'd be eviscerated if I actually said such a statement out loud...Oh no. I'm losing all sense of self-preservation by the fact that I haven't even felt a shiver of apprehension. Sensei, I do think your training methods might have worked too well on me... "Now, we need someone to prepare that television set that the Kaleidoscope had brought with him some time back. I need to watch some teledrama."

"Gaia", Kaa-san said, her blue eyes staring at Baa-san with a deadpan. "I thought you didn't like anything related to human technology."

"Considering the television is made out of crystal, it means that it has been made by natural processes. Ergo, the Kaleido-vision set-" I cringed at the name. Seriously Zelretch-san, your naming sense sucks, "-is an acceptable construct worthy of my praise."

"And, teledramas?"

"Bree."

"Ah."

"Indeed."

Sweat formed on my brow as I took a few tentative steps away from both Kaa-san and Baa-san, who were now fiddling with the various remotes of the Kaleido-vision set (seriously, that name). I went out the shack, found the grassy knoll already fixed, and decided to frolic around Avalon with Fafnir and the two Jeanne-sans. The Forge is too lonely without Sensei after all, so I might as well get out and play for once.

Totally not because I wanted to laugh at Kaa-san and Baa-san's misfortune without being ripped to shreds. Totally not it.


	43. On Comfort, Baths, and Teatime

/~/

"Frea."

I grumbled, snuggling deeper into the silver sheets that covered the rest of my body. I let out a soft sigh, a pleased expression on my face as I continued to grasp that warmth, but something pinched my coat and forcefully pulled me off from my spot. My eyes flashed open, and a growl formed on my lips, my silver eyes trying to bore through the silver hair that...wait.

"You awake now?"

Bree. It was Bree...but _not_ Bree at the same time? I tilt my head to the side, seeing his more informal clothing. A simple leather eyepatch covered his left eye, and he still had his right arm. Ugh, I've been asleep ever since Alaya had chucked me in here to provide support that I- oh. Right. The fact that 'Bree' hadn't thrown a rude remark at me the moment I wake up is enough evidence that this is not the Bree that I used to know and l-l-l- "Frea. Up. Now."

My lips formed into a pout, to which he replied with a grumble and a roll of his eyes. A simple manipulation of wind was enough for me to break away from his grip and land on his shoulder, and I stretched my arms to make sure that I had woken up. "Should I get a bath for you?"

Hm. I could get used to this. A Bree that catered to my every whim without snarking back at me? It's like living in paradise! "Sure!" I yelped, standing up on Bree- no, ENKI's shoulder, wobbling for a bit in order for me to retain my balance. The Servant seemed to chuckle at me, and went on towards the bathroom and created a dipper from scratch. After that, he filled it with lukewarm water, and once again plucked me off his shoulder.

"There you go", he said, his tone holding a spirited feel to it that I couldn't find from Bree. Sure, I mean he _could_ get absorbed in a task from time to time, but most of the time my Bree needed some serious prodding in order for me to get him to do something. Too many spatial distortions fired from the tips of my finger like it was some sort of machine gun... "Now, just let me know if you're done bathing, and I'll conjure some clothes for you."

"You better make it sure that it wouldn't dispel, alright", I narrowed my eyes and scowled, to which ENKI replied with a chuckle, leaving me on the sink. I mean sure, if it _was_ Bree, then I had to be cautious, but I'm getting the opposite feel from ENKI. Like I could just trust him, lay out all my troubles, and...no, no, no. Zip it Frea, you're fifteen millennia old. There is _no_ way that you're going to get giddy over the fact that Bree's past self was more accommodating than who he is at the present. I mean, ENKI is pretty much a straight, all-around nice guy, while Bree is...well, _Bree_.

I sighed in relief as the clothes that I wore dissolved into thin air, lowering my body down on the bath. Truly, this was the life. I could barely remember the times wherein I could have the same luxury back in the Reverse Side of the World. Well, I'm pretty sure that Bree would just make me one if I asked, but then again it would give him an incentive to peek...but Gaia and Alaya would also be bathing as well. Ugh, damn me and my indecisiveness... "Well, I guess I better enjoy this vacation while it lasts, then."

My eyes closed, and I let a wide smile form on my face. Soon, I was in dreamland, and flashes of imagery passed through my mind, all at an attempt to find me a good dream.

 _"Don't leave me behind."_

The line made me pause, and I jumped up the bath as the lukewarm water sloshed all around me. What was that? I swore that I could see a hooded figure at the back of my mind trying to tell me something, but...well, I guess I must be more tired than I thought. Not only due to my administration duties, but also with trying to make sure that _a certain someone_ doesn't take his pranks too far...Damn it Bree.

"ENKI! Get back here!"

Silver eyes blinked, and I listened as the ruckus continued past the wall and moved onto the next intersection. I was tempted to put up a scrying spell to see if I had stumbled across an interesting find, but the more rational part of my mind told me that I would just be wasting time.

Really, Bree from the past or not, it seems that one of the main characteristics of my...ugh, my _former_ husband, was that he needed to prank a few people from time to time.

/~/

"Ah, so that is what happened", I mused, holding up a hand to my chin as Shirou poured me a third cup of tea. Truly, it seemed like the Overseer had done a good job of appointing his Heir. If one could make tea taste good while at the same time cooling down my hoarding instincts for a while, then surely Shirou would be more skilled in other counterparts. "I must admit, I had believed before that the Overseer was just trying to push our buttons, but apparently he still has a sore spot for an Elf." I frowned, and took another sip of the tea, the scent helping me calm down.

Truly, I could not understand the Overseer's actions. One could say that he was a free spirit, unbound by any chains on his body, mind, or soul, but he had apparently sealed himself in the Reverse Side of the World with help from Gaia and Alaya in order to minimize his interactions with the Surface World. Still, he had a lot of free time in the Reverse Side, and he had mostly used it for constructive projects like designing buildings, crafting raw materials, and even creating items that even Phantasmal Beasts like us could wield. I guess Fate needed to have such a card in check however, since even I couldn't help but feel a small twinge of annoyance with my continued interactions with the former Divine Spirit.

My bottom had not stopped scratching for days when I had sat upon that hoard of gold for a time...I would have tried to murder him back then, if it were not for the rampaging Eastern dragons that seemed to have their Reverse Scales scratched. By who, I wonder...

"Still, it is quite a big deal for him to drop everything in response to a threat to his...wife? Partner? Comrade?" Once again, my head tilted to the side, "It would seem that the Overseer and Administrator shared quite a long history together, but kept it separate from their daily dealings with one another." My gaze turned towards Shirou, who seemed to be enjoying the intricacy of his own work. _Too_ much enjoyment, by my observation. "Shirou. What can you tell me about those two?"

"Hm..." The Overseer's apprentice placed a hand on his chin to think, his red brows narrowing in frustration. "...Well, Sensei's not too keen on revealing what had happened to him in the past. I swear that he locked himself down faster than I could say 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'." I gave him a blank look, to which he sheepishly scratched the back of his head before continuing. "Well, the fact is that Sensei is _really_ protective of Frea-san."

"Enough to even rebel against the World?" I raised an eyebrow, watching Shirou's peculiar reaction to such a question. His lips turned down into a neutral line, and the sharp glint of intelligence that he normally hid behind his facade of insanity locked onto a point on the wooden table. A grunt came from the depths of his throat, and with it, a hint that allowed me to gain more knowledge about the Overseer.

"...Enough to even destroy a World for her sake, apparently."


	44. On an Olden Tale

Let me tell you a story. Quite an old one, actually, or so Sensei said when he first mentined it to me. I...don't really know what it's supposed to stand for however, so maybe you guys can help me figure it out. Sensei says it's supposed to be my assignment before he gets back from slaughtering the Elves. Did I just say that? Yes I did. Uh...right. Moving onto what Sensei had told me...

"Once, there was a young man, of average build and height, situated upon a grassy knoll with nothing but his worn-down shack. Here he forged, for creation was his passion, and wanted nothing more than to be left alone with his creations. It was quite peaceful for a time, where it seemingly passed by in a river full of rapids, and yet the meeting was so fleeting, but held an enormous truth.

"The meeting was quite simple, really. A stray elf had wandered into his shack, seeking solace from the rest of her kin. He did not know the reason as to why she was being searched, yet allowed her to stay nonetheless, as long as she didn't touch any of his works. After a time, the elf began watching the young man forge. The swing of the hammer, the glimmer in his eyes that spoke of true, unadulterated passion...She was captivated by the young man, who had poured his heart and soul into each and every single one of his creations, and sat in silence."

Well, this I could still get. I know that Sensei is trying to tell me something about how him and Frea-san had first met, but I didn't expect it to be so...mundane. You mean you weren't expecting a grand epic? Come on, Fafnir-san, it's Sensei. He just robably didn't have the time to lay it all out on the crystal that he sent me.

Yes, it is a crystal that records messages. What do you mean that we should use it instead of my voice? Are you insinuating something here? Well, in any case...I guess I should continue with the story...

"Time passed, and the elf soon grew tired of watcng the young man work. Flaring up her curiosity, she asked the young man as to tell him of the tales that he knew. In response, he stared at her with confusion in his eyes, saying that he knew no tales that he had encountered. The elf had sighed, expecting such a response, and thus told him to regale her with the stories of some of his creations.

"Now that had piqued the young man's interest. For the first time since he had laid down his shack amongst the knoll of grass, he had stopped his work and gestured towards the works that he had made. He had told the elf about the creation of the tools required for such works, telling her stories of stars being used as the material for some of the pieces. Others, he told her, were made from the abyss between worlds, capable of rending apart the laws of reality without so much as a snap of a finger. Some, were tools that reached into other realities, using their energies as fuel for the processes that would create some of his other works. Yet, the young man's crowning achievement was nothing more than an ordinary dagger, wreathed in cold steel that was the bane of the supernatural.

"The elf asked as to why he would regale her with a simple dagger when there were more exotic choices in the aisles of the shack, and the young man simply replied to her query with a smile. 'The greatest works are those that only you can be proud of', he had said, showing the dagger towards the elf, 'Look at the grain. Here, you can find no imperfections. The edge holds well to stress, and the tang fits the handle so. The taper is natural; it does not weaken the material in any way. Its core is robust, and even though it may rust with exposure to water, under normal circumstances it would do its job: a simple dagger, used for cutting and stabbing. Do you get my point?'

"She stared at him with confusion muddling her features, and the young man sighed. 'Do what you must', he said, his gaze moving to his window, where the elf's countrymen stood, waiting for their queen. 'If you wish to simlply be here and chat about my works, then I welcome you so. But there is hesitation in your actions. Hesitation that is unforgivable in a being such as you.' His lips curled into a thin line, and he continued with his talk. 'Hesitation can mean the difference between a masterpiece and scrap. Now what are you, o dear elf? Masterpiece, or scrap?

"Her face scrunched in thought, the various thoughts of her mind warring for dominance. Silver eyes closed in deep understanding, reaching through the depths of her self in order to find the cause of her hesitation. Then, she came up with an answer, and she stared at the young man with determination set in her gaze. 'I know what I must do', she told him, 'Give me a piece from your collection, and allow me to wield it so. For it means that I could handle the responsibility of such a priceless artifact, and therefore can handle the weight of my nation too.'

"The young man smiled, allowing the elf to glimpse into the vast archives of his collection, and waited until she had talked to him once more. Only after a moment did the glimpse end, with the elf smiling at the young man. A staff was curled in her hand, as tall as she and made out of knotted wood. It was black, like the trees located past the bountiful knolls of grass that his shack had resided on, yet it carried a certain opulence in its simplicity, with various markings carved along its surface. 'I shall choose this one', she said so the young man, who simply gave her a smile in return as he bid her farewell and out the door of his shack.

"Yet before she had crossed the threshold, the young man had stopped her, a flat expression on his face as he addressed the elf. 'Why do you choose that staff above the others?' He asked, his voice not carrying any hint of curiosity. Instead, he stared at the knotted wood with scrutiny, and left the elf to answer his question.

"The elf had smiled, and replied to his query. 'I had sensed no hesitation from myself when I had laid my eyes upon the staff', she said, her lips curling upwards into a smile as she bowed towards the young man. 'Now if you will excuse me, I shall be off to lead my country to prosperity. You are welcome upon my court, young man. I shall see you about these types of matters soon.'

"She hadn't glanced towards the young man as she left his shack, her will as steel and her resolve renewed. If she had, then she would've seen a look of melancholy upon his face, before turning back to resume his work. 'It is always the staff that they choose', he lamented, his words hammering through the soft metal of his latest work, 'I would've been more satisfied if they had not chosen from my collection at all.'"

...Yeah. That's the end of the story. Like, I'm pretty sure this was something about what had hapened when Sensei and Frea-san first met, right? But then again, the latter half of the story doesn't make any sense. Like, what's the staff supposed to stand for? And why was the young man actually giving out advice towards the elf? Sure, you can throw those theories around, but I do think that the staff that both of them talked about here is important somehow. Huh? You too? Well, I guess that we need to ask both Kaa-san and Baa-san as to whether or not they've seen Frea wield a staff.

That's...huh. Guess I'll give you credit for that, Joan-san.

...No, even if you try to burn me, I can just wink it outnof existence, you know.


	45. On Duress, Pillars, and Revelations

/Original/

If I were to be frank, the elves deserve their retribution. Or at least, the ones pulling the strings behind the scenes. So, it made my job infinitely harder, seeing as I couldn't use a lethal weapon in their ranks. I mean, I couldn't just whip out a sword that makes sure that everyone who gets hit by the sword beam if left unconscious while disregarding the surroundings, right?

...Was I an idiot or something? Because I certainly feel like an idiot right now. How could I forget such a basic facet of my entire being? "[Seraphim, Set]."

My Magic Cores sprung to life, emboldened by the fact that the mana in the air around me shifted towards my will. From the ether formed a ring of twelve swords, each bearing a similar design to one another, and as they formed I tweaked their blueprints to match my specifications. Once they were formed, they gathered around in a ring, idly whirling beside me amidst the fusillade of projectiles. When something had the possibility of hitting me, one of the blades immediately put themselves in harm's way, slicing through the concepts that made up the spell and rendering them into nothingness. "Thanks, [Chesed]", I said, barely paying any mind to the grunt and file as I kept on walking through Elysium, my eyes trained onto the singular building that stood beneath a megastructure.

Said megastructure was an entwined mix of alien alloys, totally incomprehensible for any being on Gaia. How it got into the Reverse Side of the World must be due to the fact that every 'fantastical' elements in reality must be shifted towards the Reverse World. I knew what it was, and so made sure to keep tabs on it at all times. Even the stupidest elf can push a button after all, and with all the blundering that they have done over a long period of time, they seem to be getting closer to unlocking the secrets of the megastructure itself.

Needless to say, I wasn't going to let them do that. It was one of the main reasons as to why I sealed myself up in the Reverse World in the first place. Aside from the whole 'non-human elements stay out of the Surface World' shtick. Seriously, after gathering so many of my fragmented clones, I'm beginning to piece together the things that happened in between Uruk and now...I can't help but keep everyone away from the damn thing. Sorry about the paperwork for the relocation programs however. Maybe I could just chuck a few clones at it and leave it be...

Ugh, get your mind out of the gutter, Bree. You've got the Enclave already in your clutches, with a part of [Chesed] pointed towards their necks. "Alright, I'm going to make this simple and make this quick", I said with a smile on my face, "Which one of you tried going after Frea with a stick?"

...Did I just make a rhyme? "That is none of your business, Administrator." One of them sneered, even as a a piece of [Chesed] speared through his throat. With a gurgle of saliva his mind broke, and I turned towards the other elves in the Council with a raised brow.

"Anyone wants to go next?"

No one answered, and I was forced to let out a sigh. Truly, their loyalty to their own kind was commendable, but I should've realized the fact that said loyalty was also a drawback when forced to submit towards a higher authority. With my lips pursed, I readied [Chesed], the blades readying themselves as they glowed an ethereal light. "Go. Extract the information from their minds...and break them after."

My will manifested into reality, and the blades sang forth towards the minds of the Council, gleaming ominously in the light. Just a second before I get what I needed...

"Stop, Bree."

Steel rang through the air, dispelling [Chesed] back into its constituents. I whirled around, my eye trained on the lone figure standing in front of the entrance, and almost let out a reflexive scowl. Amethyst eye stared back from a mirror, an arm outstretched towards me as if it had thrown something. Emerald flashed by my peripherals as Gügnir flew back to my mirror's waiting hand, and he took a step back while readying his weapon. My eye twitched, and I itched to just reach out to the Root and erase the mirror's existence.

But I couldn't do that. For who stared back at me received the same gifts as me...and thus, there would be nothing else but to do ts the old fashioned way.

"[ **Ætheria** ]."

/ENKI/

For the Original to be a source of a Singularity...as much as I wouldn't want to believe it, the fact that I saw him try to use [Chesed] on the Elven Enclave made me realize that he needed to be stopped. But I forgot to realize one important fact.

We were in the Reverse Side of the World.

In an instant, me and the rest of Chaldea waiting outside Elysium were shifted to his world, one filled with an endless knoll of wheat. Arturia had gaped at her surroundings, minding the similar comparisons to this place to Avalon...if it were not for the fact that this Domain is all a separate world.

A world that had flourished. A world where me and the rest of my race had once played god, and was punished for it. The world wherein I had first met Frea, all under a grassy knoll. Yet there was one key difference: a pillar, made of metals alien to human comprehension, striking up towards the sky where a formless void shifted amidst a dull blue glow of ten lights, intertwined in a structure that would most likely fry the inner workings of any ordinary human who had stared at it, and was uninitiated into the Throne of Heroes.

"That's..."

"The Root." I said, a frown on my face as the void shifted once again, now covering up the image that most magi had sought for in their entire lives. Some of the Caster-class Servants could only stare as their object of desire was taken away by the ever-shifting void, and instantly readied their spells in outrage at the figure standing in front of the pillar, an impassive amethyst eye staring at the army of Servants without an ounce of fear.

"ENKI", he stated, staring at me with an eye that was oh-so familiar towards me. "Someone sent an army to forcefully retrieve Frea." My blood stilled, and an overwhelming amount of rage coursed through my veins before I managed to get a hold of myself. "It's the main reason as to why I confronted the Elven Enclave itself. Gaia forbade me from killing any of them, so using [Chesed] was the only way that I could extract some useful information out of them."

"...You're still taking it too far." I said, thumbing Gügnir while eyeing Bree with a wary eye. "You still have the Sorcery, so you could've gotten the information straight from the source itself." Once again, the void shifted, and Bree let out a sigh as he stared at me once again.

"Where's the fun in that?" He asked in a bland tone, but I could still see the sadistic undertones within his eye. I scowled, gripping Gügnir tighter as he turned back towards the pillar. "Plus, I still have to check up on the pillar to see if it still works. The main reason why I left Frea to be instated to be the Queen of the Elven Enclave in the first place..."

"She was the only one you can trust in keeping it safe." I finished for him, and I let out a soft sigh. "If that is the case, then why do you seek to drive Frea apart from the role that you entrusted her with? It doesn't make sense." My eyes narrowed towards him. "None of this makes any sense, Bree."

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose while shifting his position directly in front of me, using his left hand to hold my head in place. My breath quickened, ready to use every ounce of my power to at least stall him for time, but I felt like a cold needle had jammed itself to the back of my head, and with it came information that I had never seen before.

No...better yet, the information wasn't just any kind of information. It was memories. Memories of the original as he sat upon the grassy knoll, speaking with Frea about going back the way it was. The fact that she hadn't agreed immediately back then made him suspicious, and he delved into the Root in order to see that the Frea that was his conversation partner was...was...

 _Oh **god**._

A splitting headache blossomed from the back of my head, yet I still had enough, mental faculties to throw Gügnir towards the pillar. Bree had blocked it with his right arm, the distinctive clang of metal and the shredding of clothing recognizeable to my ears, amd I glared at him with all the hate that I could muster. "No." My lips pursed, taking a deep breath as I stilled my will. "You've already been through enough, Bree. You resolved to protect humanity when everyone else was gone."

"Not anymore."

I grit my teeth, forming weapons of my own as the wheat rose up from the ground and began morphing into fragments of [Chesed]. If Bree doesn't want to see reason, then...I guess I'd do it in the old-fashioned way.


	46. On the Precipice of the End

/~/

"It's all over, isn't it?" The question brings me out of my thoughts, and I glanced towards my left to see Alaya staring out into the knoll surrounding the shack, watching as each strand of wheat slowly died. I hummed, not even deigning to give my...technical daughter, an answer. The fact that the pillar from Elysium was gone meant that Bree had somehow found out our little ruse...and there was nothing left for us.

"You should know the answer by now", I chided her, my voice taking a turn for a monotone. Was it puzzling to see that Alaya's voice had started expressing emotion? No. There was also a time...a time long past, where I could not empathize as well. It was one of the longest stages of my life, with nothing to do but sit on a stale ball of rock floating across the void, watching the little variety of life consummate and take on more varied forms. Now that I thought of such a time, I could sympathize with what Alaya was going through. Having recently learned the value of empathy...only for one's life to be taken away by a stray event that was outside one's notice. It was unfair; it was nothing short of abominable.

But strangely...such is life.

Truly, I must be getting old if I could spout such nonsense. "So...everything is going to end, isn't it?" Alaya asked, her voice wavering for a few seconds as blue eyes stared over the slowly darkening landscape of the Reverse World. "After all that we did to keep our respective charges alive...after all that he sacrificed for our continued survival...We're still the ones that technically caused all of this to happen."

"Don't blame yourself for it", I said, placing a hand on her shoulder whilst sighing. "Even if your time of existence is relatively...short, at least you had lived a full life." My smile was bitter, reflecting upon the past decisions that I made, and I couldn't help but chide myself for being so childish then...and now. "At least you're not like me. Three billion years of sentience, and the brightest times of my...life, was all spent here, in this shack that could use a lot more than just resin to glue the creaking floorboards together."

"It's bigger on the inside. Plus, it also looks like a normal house if you go in."

"Did he really have to make it look like a decrepit old shack from the outside, though?" I asked, then sighed a moment later as the answer came quickly. "It might be based on one of his memories...or at least, one of the few remaining memories that he has of his original identity." My lips were pursed, and I felt something deep inside me _twist_ at the unnaturalness of the current situation. Rage coursed through my veins, and I was tempted to morph into something much more appropriate...then the fact that there was literally nothing that we could do in this current situation became enough to bring me back from the brink. I heaved a sigh, passing it through gritted teeth as my fingernails morphed into claws that dug into my skin, but the pain helped me focus...to keep my mind on the present.

To keep me from freaking out over the fact that the entire universe is in its death throes, and _we_ were the ones that caused it.

"You know, I thought that it was a good idea at the time." I spoke up after a few minutes of silence. Sitting around a table and looking out a window just before the apocalypse isn't a good way to spend time, and having a conversation partner just before everything ends isn't as bad as it sounds. "Making a copy of Frea to help Bree cope with the loss."

"Amnesia brought on by insanity...huh." Alaya commented, her fingers drumming against a table as she took a sip of her tea. "...It's a shame, really. One could think of immortality as a blessing, but considering the multiple identities that he had to take over the years, only a fool would actually wish for it." Her lips pursed, and she sighed, turning towards me with an inquisitive gaze. "...Are we destined to become like that as well?"

"No." I said. Too quickly, if I might add, but that was only if Alaya was going to ask. "Fundamentally, we are forces of thought in of itself. A manifestation of thoughts that are dependent on faith itself, very much like the way Divine Spirits gather their power. Unlike them however, we are not born human. Thus, it means that we will be able to stand the insanity of living forever, as long as we continue on doing what we were supposed to do. Bree however, was a former human - a Divine Spirit given flesh...and much more. However, he has gained humanity in his travels on my realm, and thus is prone to forget memories that are associated with grievous trauma. ENKI was his latest identity. I can infer that Odin was his second-to-the-last incarnation. We can only assume that he does not remember anything else apart from that."

"And the other...quirks of his personality?"

"Probably, they were the aspects of his original identity." I closed my eyes, a thin smile appearing on my face that was both nostalgic and forlorn at the same time. "Most likely, some aspects of previous incarnations were carried over into the new ones, and sometimes a pattern could be seen if one were to observe him long enough."

"You're sure of this?"

"Of course not. I'm not old enough to see things from his perspective", I scoffed, glancing back towards the grassy knoll to see it shift into a formless void. My lips pursed, watching the void shift in increasingly erratic ways, until it eventually laid still, and I could see a single blank eye staring from the abyss. "Although..." I motion towards the blank eye, watcng as it was slowly imbued with a purple hue. "...I do think that we might need to make peace."

Alaya's gaze shifted towards the purple eye floating in the abyss, and bugged out her eyes as she tried to keep the bile from rising up her throat. I could see it from her reaction; the revulsion coming from the depths of her eyes made it perfectly clear that whatever was inside the void, it was something that she couldn't fundamentally accept. As for me however...

...I can't help but wave a hand at the familiar figure.

/ENKI/

Shared Resonance Experience. A phenomenon that occurs whenever two identical individuals from different time periods interact with one another. A form of soul-sharing, if you will. With this, one could potentially gleam insight as to the thoughts and actions of the alternate individual. "Do you see?" Bree asked, driving me back with a powerful thrust that was reminiscent of my own stance. "How pointless it is to keep on fighting against the inevitable?"

"[ **Ætheria** ]." My Domain manifested as well, backed by the two sides of the Counter Force, and I felt power swell up within me before surging over the current landscape like a wave. Torrents of water flowed from the heavens and spilled through the knolls of wheat, effortlessly drowning them under the power of my own Domain. Bree responded by manipulating the void-like substance from his own Domain and flicked it towards my direction with a force of will, effectively making a wall that stood against the crashing waves.

"Quaint", Bree remarked, tilting his head to the side as an impassive golden eye stared out from underneath his eyepatch, "Sadly, you are but a figment of my past deeds." The void shifted, morphing into countless blades which promptly surged through the wave of water and disappeared in trails of light. "It is futile to resist. Whatever you do, there is no stopping me from reconnecting with the pillar and awakening once again."

"Damn crazy bastard..." I muttered, forming a shield that covered our entire line of Servants and imbued it with the concept of [Immortality]. My golden eye glowed, and I felt a spike of pain lance through my temple, and I forcefully closed off my left eye once again as I took a step back and raised an arm to the sky. "[Seraphim, Set]."

Magic Cores sprung to life, and the swirl of mana that emanated from my person rose up to the sky in minute orbs of purple light. Slowly, they coalesced into ten orbs that arranged themselves into the Tree of Life, and I growled as I used my body as a forge to connect them all.

 _"[Malkuth] stands against the tide_

 _with [Yesod] a bulwark to victory._

 _[Hod] bathe my sacrifices in morning light_

 _as [Netzach] tries to stem the blight._

 _[Tiferet] lifts up the spirits of warriors_

 _and [Geburah] knits bonds tight._

 _[Chesed] and [Binah] lead the way_

 _to [Chokmah]'s everlasting soul._

 _[Keter], manifest._

[אנקי - לפיד אילו העולמות מרומם]. _"_

A tree formed in between my hands, full of life and glowing a vibrant viridian. The fruits of the Sefirot converged upon the caricature of a tree, arranging themselves into various configurations whilst glowing their innate colors, and with a simple touch, the caricature surged forward into a cleansing beam of light. I screamed in pain, a consequence of trying to channel the infinite mana of the Counter Force through my body to serve as fuel for the spell, and various thoughts and memories were seared into my mind as the Resonance Experience was completed.

Just as the blast of light reached Bree, everything turned to black.


	47. On Bree's True Visage

/~/

The Root...is a maelstrom. Information flowing from different dimensions, chaotically moving from one place to another. It is a terrible, terrible place...one could get lost in the archives of reality, and thus lose themselves into trying to comprehend the underlying structure behind the Root itself. But in truth, the Root is just that: a structure. Built by _something_ , made for a _purpose_ , created for a _cause_. Past the Root itself however, one could find its Creator slumbering away, asleep in the eldritch reaches of a reality that serves as the focal point for its resurrection.

Its name...the Creator's name...was most commonly translated into the normal human language as Azathoth. A great deal of the potency of Its name is reduced due to the reduction to human tongue, yet it still contains the spike of subconscious fear that one feels when uttering Its name. In truth, the colloquial circle of contemporary authors that started from Lovecraft's works had been exposed to Azathoth's power for an infinitesimally brief period of time, but it was enough for them to glean valuable insight into the Creator's mind.

Azathoth sleeps, outside the Root where everything that one could know is stated. Here, It waits, sleeping upon a bed of eldritch energies and waiting for Its focal point to awaken, forcibly reconnecting Its mental faculties back towards Its metaphysical form. Dimensions shift around It. Laws of physics are twisted and broken beyond all recognition in close proximity towards It. Here, the Creator awaits, waiting to see whether or not its experiment was a success.

For a small glimpse, a packet of light rushes past the Root and hits the Creator's sleeping body. The void around It shifts, rousing from Its timeless slumber, and for the first moment since the beginnings of the various temporal eddies, an eye blinks open. The eye is filled with a shade of purple that could not be replicated by everything that the Root holds, and it stares at a spot in the void, watching it twist upon the barest nudges of will. It shows the inside of a run-down shack, facing two figures that seem to be made of the same essence as It.

The older one speaks, a monotone voice coming from an inhuman face of brown hair and silver eyes. She wore a dark green shawl, wrapping around her voluptuous frame fit for Divinities, and the rest of her wear was made from a light brown material that strained under the weight of its owner's shell. She spoke to It with familiarity, and It looks on in amusement. It had forgotten that It had spread minute amounts of Its essence across the Root, to act as seeds for the cultivation of life. To Its great surprise and joy, It found itself conversing with the first one to awaken. The first conscious will of Its essence to gain sentience. The very first Aristoteles.

It looks towards the younger one, noting its reaction to be quite peculiar. The Creator searches through the files of the Root, astounded by the birth of a second generation of Its essence, and finds that Its essence known as Gaia had birthed a child from one of its...Oh.

At this, Azathoth expresses genuine surprise, Its consciousness slowly regaining its former glory as time passed on, chucked through infinitely long distances and in fifty different crystalline dimensions. It would seem that during Its absence, _something_ had been fused into Its body, thus allowing it to directly interface with Its mind. The Creator hums, a sound that rings through space-time and forms minuscule fractures upon the Root itself. Eventually, Azathoth had allowed the offending body to be connected into Its mind. It would serve as a great physical vessel should the Creator ever step foot onto another world, where one could enjoy the sights of controlled chaos without fear of accidental destruction. Now that was a good idea if It ever heard of one...

However, there were still things that must be done. The older one understands, bowing her head whilst giving a sad smile, and the younger one was on the verge of tears upon the results of the initial test of the Root. The experiment was a failure. There were too few seeds that had successfully grown, and thus necessitated a reset of the experiment, no matter how long it would take.

Something passed through Azathoth's mind. A twinge of _something_ , one that weighed down on It more than the void ever could. A whisper passed through Its mind, the tongue delivered in a human language, and the Creator had glanced towards the sleeping human for an indeterminate amount of time. What it told Azathoth were names. Gaia. Alaya. Fafnir. Jeanne D' Arc. Joan of Arc. Masamune Shirou. Frea Livingwood. The human had urged the Creator to use them as permanent seeds for future iterations of the Root program, and even though It knew that the chances of the next iterations would be greatly reduced once past seeds were used...yet another part of Its mind urged Azathoth to do so.

It mused that the urge must've come from the incessant whispers that came from the human body melded to Its being. A sound rings throughout the void surrounding Azathoth, a chime of lights and time comparable to a chuckle. It supposed that It could humor the human body's wishes. Few could have the sheer _balls_ to yap about their wishes to the Dreamer, after all.

Reaching out with its mind, it contacted both the older and the younger one. Their eyes widen at the offer, and the latter breaks into tears and hugs the former, who simply smiles at the Creator. Once again, the system files of the Root were accessed, and plucked out the various files of the soon-to-be-permanent seeds and stored them into an unbreakable file. When the deed was done, Azathoth had turned Its sights onto the rest of the Root. If It had occupied Its human vessel, then It would've shook Its head and sighed. Truly, eons wasted...yet the Dreamer would not give up. There were still more worlds to create.

Azathoth's eye had turned, now gazing upon a set of two peculiar bodies currently floating amongst the void. Both were of the same design as Its human vessel...Surely, this wasn't coincidence.

/Original/

One could not simply describe the amount of betrayal that coursed through my body once I had figured out that the Frea that I had been talking to on that hill was nothing more than a fake. One made by both Alaya and Gaia to relieve me of my grief in losing her in Uruk. Her personality, looks, and soul itself was the same...if I hadn't reached out to the Root for answers, I would've sworn back then that she was the same Frea that I had met, fallen in love with, married, and would kill for.

And now, all of it has come to an end. My specific brand of revenge. But I hadn't expected my...mirror, to come up with one last hope to forcefully purge my existence from the annals of the Root. Truly, I would chalk it up to a loss on that one. Just because I knew every single trick that ENKi had doesn't mean that _he_ didn't have any tricks up his sleeve that he didn't tell me about. To think that he had the support of both sides of the Counter Force...

Now, I was facing a giant eye outside the Root, with an unconscious ENKI just a few meters away from me. I would've settled the job, but...for all my pragmatism, I just couldn't find it within me to kill myself. A coward's way out, for sure. In any case, said giant eye was about the size of Jupiter when placed into the orbit of Gaia's Moon, and I could only stare at it in silenced awe and just a _tiny_ _little bit of horror._ I knew that whatever I did to this thing, it would simply brush it off. Not even my most powerful spell could even put a dent in that...

...Was I shitting my pants? Probably. I think. I'm currently trying not to panic, so let me focus.

The giant eye-thing flashed, and all of my senses went haywire as I tried to regain my bearings. After a few of...well, moments of time later, I saw a caricature of myself, but one that I hadn't seen except for my earliest dreams...and most of my nightmares. This self of mine wasn't like ENKI, who looked more inhuman than me, no. In fact, the caricature in front of me was just a human being, of all things considered, except that he had the unlucky disposition to be deposited outside the Root, where apparently he became under the thrall of the giant eye-thing. Brown trousers leading into sturdy boots. A brown vest over a green long-sleeved shirt, buckled up by the waist with a dark blue clasp. Black hair that slowly waved around as if underwater, and when the caricature opened its eyes, I found myself facing a shade of purple that couldn't _possibly exist._

 _"Human",_ it said, its voice having the same lilt as Gaia and Alaya. _"My name is Azathoth, the Dreamer and Creator of the Root. What is the name of this vessel that I currently occupy?"_


	48. On the Start of a New Journey

/Original/

We sat in a busy café overlooking the street, staring out into the world around us as the latest person who looked like me scarfed down an overwhelming amount of food. Whenever he asked for more, the staff agreed, and apparently the rest of the customers didn't seem to mind that there was already a large pile of used plates from where he was currently eating.

"Here we are, in another Root that you created", I said, meeting gazes with the being in front of me as his pace slowed down by a noticeable amount. "I'd like to thank you by sending ENKI back into the Throne of Heroes, but…I still don't know why you wanted to meet with me."

" _Oh, that._ " A voice spoke inside my head, and I simply sighed as I watched the being in front of me return back to its usual eating pace. Which is about three plates of their largest meal per five seconds. " _I am simply curious about this vessel that I currently inhabit. As you can see, it shares the same form as you, up including the soul. Thus, I wonder…_ " The being in front of me stopped eating and glanced towards me, holding me in place with eyes that were a color that shouldn't exist. " _…Are you perhaps a manifestation of this vessel's thoughts to live?_ "

My fists clenched, and my expression was set into a neutral frown as I watched Masamune Shirou lively talking with Fafnir, his amber eyes filled with life. It was weird, seeing all of them here in this…iteration of the Root, and I was sorely tempted to just go out there and continue back to our household. But…I guess that it was a good thing that Azathoth had erased every single trace of my presence in their minds. I don't want to see what would happen if they found out that I was the one mostly responsible for connecting with Azathoth in the first place.

"I…don't know." I finally answer, and saying those words required a lot more effort than what I would normally do. "You've _seen_ what experiences I've lived through. They…were not something that I'd rather share with anyone that I'd ever meet." My gaze grew sullen, and I let out an exasperated sigh as I tousled my own head. "Once, I was an idiotic young man that had reached beyond the planes of the Root to protect the ones that he loved. Once, I made a mistake so idiotic that my body was forcefully purged from the Root of existence itself. If was that man's will to live while he slept alongside you…I suppose that I haven't been doing such a good job at it."

" _Existence is painful indeed_ ", Azathoth had replied with a nod, stuffing some more food into its mouth. " _Even though one does its best in order to procure the best possible ending for everyone involved, it seems that the Root has been hardwired to take away everything from someone the more effort that they put into proving their existence to be recorded in the system files. I had not expected such a mutation to happen, but I had fixed it in this newest incarnation._ "

"You said you wanted to talk", I said with a soft sigh, with all resistance fading away as I stared into the eyes of the being before me. "I'm listening."

Azathoth had smiled, its teeth being composed of multi-dimensional fractals that acted as gateways to different realms. " _It is good that you are willing to listen._ " Another five plates were gone before it started talking once again. " _My offer is that you merge with my own vessel and become my emissary. An Administrator, if one could put it in simple terms. You will once again be constrained in a physical body, but you will have a direct connection to me._ " It blinked, and it tilted its head as if remembering something before it continued. " _Of course, this comes with its own benefits. You will visit other variations of the Roots that I had seeded, assessing whether or not they are allowed to continue on progressing further, and you must also perform maintenance on them so that mutations such as the one that happened to the previous incarnation of this Root wouldn't occur._ "

Without even knowing it, a smile had formed on my face. A single word had flashed through my mind, and it seared deep into my core. Something changed within my Domain, and once I reached deep into my soulscape, I found that the endless knoll of wheat had been changed into familiar scenery that I knew all too well.

A humongous palace made of Jade, shimmering into nonexistence as it moved through the clouds. It was about the size of Earth, and yet its presence on the land wasn't overbearing nor the slightest hint of intimidating. Instead, all who looked upon it were filled with joy and wonder, and the children who saw such a miraculous sight would ask their parents if they would be able to climb upon its towers once they grew up. It was a living Legend, and housed within it the greatest Heroes that said world had ever seen, managing to unit a literal fragmented world against a singular threat.

I saw myself amongst their ranks, bickering and having fun with the rest of them. Frea's smile was as beautiful as ever, and I felt a tear shed down my cheek as the nostalgia took ahold of me like a vice. Al'Zorah had nuzzled its snout close to me, and even though he was naught but a being made of pure crystal, I could still feel its loyalty towards me, even until the end.

This…this was it. The singular word that had changed my Domain for all of eternity. An endless field of exploration – of endless fragments floating about the void, all under the warm light of the core of the world. I open my eyes, my changed Domain receding back into the depths of my soul, and I stared towards Azathoth with boundless gratitude.

"I accept your terms." I said, my voice as determined as it was once was before. The being in front of me had smirked, an expression eerily similar to mine as it reached forward and touched my forehead. I gasped, and I found myself amidst the void that Azathoth had found me in for the first and second time, seeing the various Roots that the Dreamer had managed to plant while in its sleep. I willed myself to move, and I let out a squawk of surprise as I found out that my body could move just fine. Now, I wore a simple brown vest over a long-sleeved green shirt, with brown pants and boots making up my lower half. It felt like I was floating in the void, and I whirled around to see Azathoth's eye gazing at me with what I could describe as something akin to amusement.

" _Now, choose a Root to start in, Bree."_ It said, its voice once again ringing through my head, and my clothing was changed to resemble something more regal-looking, something that a King would wear. _"As you start journeying through the various Roots that I had seeded, I will once again make more. For it is my singular purpose."_

A smile formed on my face, and tears flowed from my eyes as I focused my attention towards the infinite amount of Roots that I could perceive. Journey. Yes, [Journey]. That was the word that was on my lips the whole time. A whole new playground to trek, to experience, and to explore. I wiped the tears from my eyes, and I began searching through the various Roots to see where I could start.

Some amount of time later, I decided, and willed myself to manifest once more. Azathoth's voice in my mind began laughing once again, and I couldn't help but chuckle as well while I was sucked into the workings of a Root and incarnated into a brand-new universe. This time, it was my true self, and not just some phantasmal existence.

"Indeed." I opened my eyes and found that my vocal cords worked perfectly, a grin on my face as I spied the verdant blue sky that stretched far beyond me. "…The [Journey] is just beginning."

And so, I stepped forward. Towards a new Root…and towards a new destiny.

 **AN: And so ends Bree's preliminary journey in the Nasuverse. You know, I had so much fun making these things, since a length of about 1-1.5k words was something I could do on a mobile phone. It was also fun messing around with Nasuverse characters, but then came the overarching plot of finding out who Bree truly was, and couple that along with the antics of the household…well, things got hectic.**

 **Then, a reviewer said that I need to kick the plot into high gear. And so I did. It wasn't as if I'm mocking said reviewer by ending the story just when the first arc was resolved, but the flow of events and my end goal just so coincided that I ended up ending the story here. Actually, the plan was for Bree was to have some sort of valid reason to keep on trekking on other universes, so this was actually a pretty cool way of doing so. Brokering a deal with the Dreamer itself to become its Administrator, thus becoming** _ **the**_ **second authority in everything else in my shared omniverse? Yeah, the other Elder Gods can go cry themselves in a ditch right now.**

 **Speaking of Elder Gods themselves, yes I place them on the same scale as Aristoteles. They're essentially parts of the Root that mutated into their own images, thus allowing them to warp reality at their will. Also sounds like the Aristoteles, so you know…yeah. Exposition at the very end of a story. What a good way to end it.**

 **In any case, thank you all for sticking with this story till the end. It was fun writing this, and I love you guys for your continued patronage and support. I do hope that you can continue on reading other stories that feature this guy, since I'm sure that his character is still (technically) a work-in-progress.**

 **Seriously. Keep on reading his adventures. I'm sure you'll get some good laughs out of the way as well.**

 **This is Broken Paladin, debating about moral quandaries whilst hitting my enemies with a mace. Signing out.**


	49. Interlude: Dreaming of You

/-/

It was rare to have a few silent moments in the Household™. I certainly thought so, considering the average amount of miniature chaos that happened around the shack. And while it was certainly my responsibility to ensure that any kind of confrontations wouldn't be able to destroy my hard work, it was still rare to see the house completely silent.

... Of course, I checked the timelines to see if the world had been erased outside of the house.

My confusion only grew when it told me that everything was fine and dandy.

Or, it might be that the rest of the others were busy testing out the shifting bracelets that I gave them. I didn't expect my plan to work, actually. To see the Household™ entirely silent was a... weird feeling.

Dust bunnies littered the air, each step made the floorboards creaked, and I can't even open a door without the hinges creaking like they were forged out of the damned souls that littered the afterlife. Well, not that I was cruel enough to even bother with doing it anyway, but the point still stands. I can't help but feel like something's off. That I can't seem to put a finger on it might as well be my paranoia screaming at me to fire at everything around me and hope for the best.

The door to the living room budged without a creak, and I promptly followed while scratching the back of my head. I stopped a single second later, breath stolen away by the sight that I saw, and I found myself rooted to the spot and unable to take my eyes away.

Frea was sleeping. I can't think of the last time she did that. Well, mostly due to me, but at the very least I made sure to keep the peace just so she could have some rest. Although given that I was only one person dealing with a household of potentially world-ending individuals, then my distractions didn't do much to keep the rest from screwing something up.

But today? _Nobody_ was here today. When was the last time that happened?

With slow footsteps, I made my way over to one of the couches, a book materializing into existence in my hand. I leaned back with a soft sigh, enjoying the companionable silence, and I began reading one of the classics that I haven't gotten to read in a... long time.

Soft wheezes filled the air as I tried my best to keep myself from snickering, watching Frea at the corner of my eye as I turned a page on my book. From here, I could definitely see the soft bags underneath her eyes, the haggard expression that she always wore when she thought nobody else was looking. Uh, not that I actually looked. Especially not at the book that she clasped in her hands, which definitely didn't have the same title as the book that I was currently reading.

... Dammit Bree. It's been a while since you took a risk. Weren't you all gung-ho for the scent of adventure and everything?

I pushed myself up the couch, taking slow and agonizing steps towards Frea's own. Each step sent a creak along the floorboards, amplifying the unease that I felt with each passing step, and I was all but ready to bail the moment my feet touched the edge of the couch. I couldn't do this. I mean, just what the hell was I thinking, that maybe I could simply-

"Bree..."

...

The couch shifted ever-so slightly as I sat beside Frea, recording device at the ready. Or maybe there wasn't really anything in my hands except for a book. I don't know. At this point, I really didn't care. I was too busy in trying to discern as to where the sudden stuffiness came from, and how do I get it to go away.

My eyes shifted towards the book, leather-bound covers and gold lettering popping out as it met my gaze. I decided to simply continue on reading, never mind the sudden warmth around my side, like a hearth in the winter months. How long had it been since I had one in the house? Maybe I should get one from the Surface World, just for kicks. Maybe I could set the temperature around the house to below freezing just so we could get some snowfall around here. All underneath the heater, blankets wrapped around us for warmth, the hearth crackling with firewood, and when that wasn't enough, cuddling with one another sounded like a good idea.

Like now, for example.

Except the temperature around the household always stayed around twenty-five degrees Celsius. There was no need for cuddling. There was also no need for such things as an arm wrapping around my own, making sure that they'd never let go.

Although, this isn't necessarily a bad feeling...

"Don't go..."

I'm not sure that I could even do such a thing. Really. All I could do was try to read my book like an idiot and try not to notice the person beside me, acting like an oblivious moron. Who was I? Shirou? Nah. Although, doing nothing but reading a book until the others came back was boring. And considering that I couldn't exactly leave without milady's permission...

"Stay..."

... I might as well go to sleep for the moment.

...

I woke up a few hours later with my face smashed into the floorboards. I didn't even know as to how I could sleep through that, and the commotion that inevitably followed the Household™ like a storm.

* * *

 **AN: It's back.**


	50. The Start of a New Adventure

/-/

"You _what._ "

"I made a deal. Or remembered that I made a deal. It threw me for a loop as well when I remembered such a thing." The glares that I received on the other side of the table spoke of what they thought about the entire situation, which I can clearly empathize with. Making deals? Part and parcel of the individual once known as Bree. Frea here (or at the very least am eerie facsimile of her) knew that to a tee. But making deals with eldritch abominations living far beyond the Root itself?

... I can understand their hesitation. "So who am I speaking to."

"A clone." I reply, tilting my head to the side as I remember relatively recent events. At the very least, in this Root. "You know how the former me could make said clones act independently from one another. This is just that, but taken to the extreme."

"And the whole... _incident,_ earlier this morning?"

"You were sleeping in my house. At least, in my former house. Tenses are confusing, but still – at the very least, you should know that I have a particular fondness for this particular shack of mine. It's obvious that I'll be summoned here."

"B-B-But–"

"Oh, so you were sleeping at his house, dear child?" Gaia asks, poking Frea by her cheeks with a smirk and a predatory gleam in her eyes. "I didn't take for you to be the sentimental type. After what you learned from your beau, you still sleep in his bed?"

Frea screams and buries her head in her hands, her hazel locks becoming untangled from their neat braid as Gaia smiles and turns to me with a patronizing smile. "Considering that you're here after the... reset, then I surmise that you have a purpose for coming here."

That injected a little seriousness into the conversation. Just as I was about to mock Frea as well... I sigh and slump my shoulders forward. "Yeah. Look, I'm currently trying to manage over a number of newly-minted miniverses, so I need some eyes on the ground to keep track of the Root for me. Also to grant some autonomy for everyone living inside."

Gaia blinks. "And you're just willing to give all that power to me? When I want to strangle your daughter-by-thought whenever she comes here to gloat?"

"I'm not giving it to you. What am I, an idiot?" Frea stops her self-imposed phase of embarrassment, and turns to look at me with a blank gaze that's an exact copy of Gaia's own expression. It was meant to be a rhetorical question, damn it. "Jokes aside, I'm here to assess candidates. Frea's on the list, and so are a few other people that should not be named. Definitely not Zelretch, though."

"Just spit out the truth, Bree." Frea snaps, and I blink at her. "Stop it with the deer-in-the-headlights look. I know you're hiding something from us. You're usually not beating around the bush for useless matters like finding someone to take care of the Root for you while you're off busy managing some other things as well. What's the problem?"

"Is this another one of your schemes again?" Gaia asks, power flaring behind her eyes, and I couldn't help but purse my lips and twiddle my thumbs. Damn it, eerie caricature of Frea.

"Fine." I snapped in return, exasperated at the current turn of events. Here was the hope that I would be able to do this sneakily... "There's been a bit of a mishap on the scale that I now technically work on. You have at least some idea about the existences of other Roots as well, right? Or at the very least, Gaia has."

Said embodiment of Earth nods, and I continue on with a lighter smile. "Normally, beings from one Root can't move to another unless given express permission by a Root's guardian, taken up to me. Others... are glitches in the Root's code, allowing them to slip through the cracks and involuntarily transport them to different Roots without them knowing. I call them Jumpers."

"So you're here on a search and rescue mission, while you need someone to guard what you're supposed to be guarding. Is that it?"

"No." I reply with a bitter smile aimed at Frea's question. "I'm here on search-and-destroy. Whoever these are, they're an organization. Which means goals. Ideologies. Curiosity."

"Knowing which one is not meant to know." Gaia automatically replies back, an unnatural frown on her face as her silver eyes lock onto me alongside with Frea's worried gaze. "They're targeting you, and whoever you work for. And if my instincts are correct..."

Silence filled the air, both of them thinking what was all but impossible, and acknowledging the insanity behind the thought. Worried looks flashed across their faces before I gave them a smile in return, leaning forward with a conspiratorial grin.

"So are you in?"

A grand new adventure. But it just had to concern the fate of myself, my boss... and what both of us represented in the grand scheme of things. I just wished I hadn't picked an unfair deal when I shook hands with Azathoth.

"Where do we start?"

My grin became a little wider in response.


End file.
